Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles on the subject of employment insurance. Our government's top priority remains job creation and economic growth.
The approach taken by our government to connect Canadians with the jobs that are available in their communities is fair and reasonable.
It involves providing Canadians with the tools they need to successfully reintegrate into the labour market.
Let me be clear. For those who are unable to find employment, employment insurance will be there for them as it always has been. In addition, unemployed Canadians will not be required to relocate to another part of the country for fear of losing their EI benefits. The government will provide targeted enhanced labour market information to help unemployed Canadians make informed decisions about the future. We will also better coordinate the EI program and the temporary foreign worker program to ensure that Canadians have access to all jobs in their communities first.
Let me talk more about the labour market information. Right now, through job alerts, EI claimants receive up to three job postings when they apply and complete their online report every two weeks. This is not enough. In fact, many claimants do not receive any listings at all because the job bank carries only one in five jobs that is advertised online in Canada. Under the changes, job alerts will be improved to send claimants daily job postings for their chosen occupations and communities or regions from a broader range of sources, including those from the private sector job boards. The alerts will also include information on wages and demand for selected occupations.
Having access to this information will allow claimants to make informed decisions about how best conduct and expand their job searches. As for the factors that will determine suitable employment, these include personal circumstances. For example, people receiving EI will not have to accept work if they have a health problem that prevents them from taking a particular job, if they have a family obligation that prevents them from working certain times of day, if they have limited transportation or they are not physically capable of performing the work.
Vacant positions must not be directly related to strikes, lockouts or other labour disputes and the driving time must be within a one hour commute, perhaps higher, taking into account the claimant's previous commuting history and the community's average commuting time. Suitable will also be determined by hours worked and the type of work to be done, responsibilities, tasks, wages and experience. As time spent on EI claims increases, claimants will be required to expand what is considered suitable in terms of work type and hourly wages.
As we face unprecedented labour and skills shortages, it is important that the employment insurance program is working effectively for Canada and Canadians. These changes will strengthen EI's core insurance principles, making it more efficient and fair for everyone.