Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak this evening, at the time of adjournment, on the pilot project to add five weeks of employment insurance, mainly for seasonal workers who need to make sure not that they can live, but that they can survive and support their families during very tough times, often during the winter.
This pilot project allows workers who have exhausted their employment insurance benefits to receive up to five additional weeks of employment insurance, until their next season of work begins.
Hon. members will recall that this pilot project was established in 2004 by the former Liberal government for a very simple reason: we understood the needs of seasonal workers who were faced with extremely difficult situations. The Liberal government understood this at the time. The pilot project was to run for two years, and the government was to re-evaluate the situation and make the right decision.
Today the situation is such that the pilot project is coming to an end and we have absolutely no answer for our seasonal workers. If it wants to help our families, if it wants to reduce poverty in Canada, then the government must take action. The Conservatives are doing absolutely nothing about this and are clearly forgetting that the people who work every day to provide for their families have to pay mortgages or rent, pay for electricity, gasoline—which is becoming more and more expensive—and groceries every day so their families can eat.
When these seasonal workers have to deal with a work shortage and their employment insurance benefits end, the reality is that they must rely on certain measures in order to survive. That is the responsibility of the federal government, which is pocketing $14 billion in surplus today, but is unable to announce any basic measures to help these families survive.
When we look at the situation, we see that the Conservatives are pushing countless individuals and families into uncertainty. When their employment insurance benefits end, those individuals and families do not know if they will still be able to receive the benefits from the wonderful pilot project the Liberals implemented in 2004.
The Conservatives are pushing families into uncertainty. What a nice Christmas present they are delivering to these families. It is a poisoned gift because the Conservatives are unable to officially announce that this pilot project, that extends employment insurance benefits by five weeks, will be renewed.
I hope this time that I will get a clear and detailed answer. Will the government renew the pilot project on the additional five weeks to close the gap—yes or no? Furthermore, will it make this pilot project permanent so that workers can stop begging for the help they need and have earned by working so hard for these employment insurance benefits?
Will the government finally agree to respond by saying that it will renew this pilot project permanently—not just temporarily—so that families and workers can know where they stand before the holiday period?