Mr. Speaker, that answer is cold comfort to unemployed workers in Ontario. EI claims in that province are up by 14%. They are up 30% in Windsor and up a staggering 96.4% in the finance minister's own backyard of Oshawa, and those numbers do not even take into account the countless workers who should be eligible but are not.
To add insult to injury, it has been estimated that the average unemployed, laid off worker in Ontario receives $4,600 less in EI benefits than those in the rest of Canada.
Will the government ensure that all unemployed workers get the benefits they have paid for and get equal treatment regardless of where they live in this country?