Mr. Speaker, according to the minister's logic, the unemployment rate would have to go up for unemployed workers to be eligible. In the lower St. Lawrence region, a claimant needs 455 hours of work to be eligible. In Montreal, that number is 595, and in Gatineau, it is 700. The employment insurance system should be fair to all unemployed workers, to all Canadians, regardless of their postal code.
Does the Conservative government acknowledge that the time has come to create a national standard—