Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question, which is very relevant.
We have a duty as parliamentarians to make sure our constituents have the support they need to lead fulfilling lives. For example, if workers want to stay in their community, it is our job to find ways to help them do just that, but if they want to move, we must also be able to help them with various tax programs or even changes to the employment insurance system. A number of unions in the construction industry have suggested such changes. Every year, they come here to Ottawa to talk to us about that. We would therefore be addressing a problem.
The government is hiding behind the fact that some regions or sectors are experiencing labour shortages. This is true, admittedly. But a worker in Abitibi who loses his forestry job cannot necessarily become a miner overnight. These people need income support so that they can get the retraining they need.
As well, regions sometimes have very temporary labour needs. People will be reluctant to leave their area to go to Alberta, for example, for fear they will be sent back again six weeks later. We have to find a way to minimize the costs to individuals and distribute labour in the way that makes the most sense economically. The measures described by the member are consistent with this approach.
I will close by saying that the Bloc Québécois is looking at introducing a sort of improved employment insurance for workers who agree to train for a period of two years, for example. As I mentioned, employment insurance provides coverage for a maximum of 42 weeks, if memory serves. Yet training to move from one specialty to another rarely takes less than two years. Consequently, it seems to me that in light of the new realities in the manufacturing sector, we need to review—