Mr. Speaker, I indicated in my earlier question that Prince Edward Island primarily has a seasonal economy. There are some good-paying, permanent jobs that some people are fortunate enough to have. Some of them are at the national headquarters of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Excuse me for commenting on the irony of being able to talk to the Minister of Veterans Affairs about employment insurance, given that many of the employees within his department, as part of this downsizing, may find themselves having to avail themselves of that program. As the House may know, the cuts to the civil service in my riding and in my province are double what they are in the rest of the country.
My question relates to dealing with the people who are now on employment insurance who have to go to Service Canada. The minister is closing district offices, is downsizing Veterans Affairs and is telling the veterans to go to Service Canada. We are gutting the EI system and are telling those on EI to go to Service Canada.
In Prince Edward Island, Service Canada is being cut from 113 front-line employees to 61. How will these people be able to serve the increased needs of the veterans and the increased number of people seeking employment when the actual number of front-line workers in Service Canada is being cut by 46% in my province?