Mr. Speaker, a quarter of a million people have lost their jobs in three months. In January alone, 129,000 Canadians, 30,000 of them in Quebec, three times more than expected, lost their jobs. Unemployment is skyrocketing: it is at 7% in Trois-Rivières, 8% in Montreal, 8.5% in the Saguenay, and 11% in Windsor. Employment insurance eligibility criteria are appalling; half of these people are excluded.
When can we expect changes that will help these people? They need help now.