Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned shovel-ready projects, but it is my understanding that under the building Canada fund there are a lot of shovel-ready projects which have not yet received money. This is what apparently the 20 or so mayors of the largest cities in Canada said at the FCM meeting a few weeks ago. I wonder if the member knows when this money will be available. If this money has not yet been made available, how can we expect that any money going into infrastructure will become available soon for those communities that need it?
With regard to employment insurance, the member talked about the system being revamped. Has the member talked to some of the 60% of the people who are not eligible for employment insurance to hear their thoughts? People are losing their jobs in communities that I represent, some of them in the forestry industry in particular and in other industries. He talked about how the EI system is supposedly working for people, but has he seen how they are suffering?