Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague with great interest because when it comes to employment insurance, it seems that we are all in the same situation with respect to our constituents who find themselves in many cases in very heartbreaking situations when they are forced to go on EI.
I say “forced to” because no one really wants to have to avail themselves of employment insurance. They would much rather work. Unfortunately, with what is happening in our country more and more companies are either cutting their workforce or closing their doors entirely and there are fewer and fewer jobs for which people can avail themselves. They are finding that they are not able to put food on the table and not able to pay their bills.
What we need is a government that is aware of how difficult the situation is and will put some measures in place to speed up the process. I have constituents who wait for six weeks in order to get money from the EI system which is simply not fair. I am wondering if my colleague could suggest ways other than what the government is proposing in terms of speeding up the process.