Mr. Speaker, a skilled tradesman and temporary foreign worker working in Alberta for five years is in the process of seeking permanent residency. As required, he paid into employment insurance for all those years. However, he has been told he does not qualify to claim EI benefits because he is not available to work. He is keen to work but he cannot seek employment until he gets a new work permit, which could take three months.
Why is the government shunting yet another willing, skilled, experienced worker to the provincial welfare roles?