Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the member's comments.
Our government's top priorities are job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity for Canadians.
In order to foster a strong and competitive workforce, we want to help Canadians who have lost their job find new jobs as soon as possible. By encouraging unemployed Canadians to take part-time work while they are collecting EI benefits, we know the odds are that this will lead to permanent work and it increases substantially by taking those part-time jobs.
On August 5, we implemented the new working while on claim pilot project that was announced in budget 2012. We know there were some concerns raised about the new pilot project and we listened. On October 5, the government announced its intention to amend the working while on claim pilot project. This amendment will allow those who are working while on claim between August 7, 2011, and August 4, 2012, to revert to the rules of the old pilot project over the next three years. This was done to allow these claimants time to transition to the new pilot project.
The new pilot project will continue to ensure that Canadians are always better off working than not.
But that is not all. We are also taking steps to help Canadians find local jobs that are out there for them.
Sometimes people lack the resources to search effectively for work. Using tools like job bank, we will be sending more frequent and enhanced job alerts and labour market information to Canadians.
We are here to help the unemployed.
At the same time, we recognize there are Canadians who are having difficulty finding work, particularly in the off season in parts of the country where much of the economy is based on seasonal industries. For those who are unable to find employment, employment insurance will continue to be there for them as it always has been.