Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his excellent question. I would say that the crisis in the forestry sector also poses a serious threat to the survival of many rural municipalities.
The forestry sector has gone through a lot of crises. We well remember softwood lumber. An agreement was signed with the United States but there were still a lot of difficulties for the industry. We know very well that the economic crisis eventually led to various other difficulties because of the reduced demand for lumber.
This sector has had a lot of problems and most areas in it have experienced numerous job losses, over and over for many years.
We looked at this aspect before making our decision about Bill C-50, but it does nothing to help these people access employment insurance. Accessibility is a major problem for them because they are seasonal workers. Not only does Bill C-50 fail to improve the employment insurance system for them, it also does nothing to improve their situation and make employment insurance more accessible.
There are many seasonal workers, therefore, in the forestry sector and elsewhere who have to fall back on social assistance at the end of the month or end of the year.