Mr. Speaker, my friend mentioned that math is difficult. Obviously, from a party whose leader thinks that budgets balance themselves, it would be very difficult to explain all that to him. However, I can guarantee that budgets take discipline, hard work and they do not balance themselves.
Economic action plan 2015 reaffirms the government's commitment to pursuing a new disability and sick leave management system. The 40-year-old sick leave accumulation system is antiquated and not responsive to the needs of the majority of our employees.
Over 60% of the employees in the public service do not have enough banked sick leave to cover the waiting period before assessing long-term disability benefits, and 25% have less than 10 days banked sick leave. This places them at risk of income loss.
A modernized system would provide adequate support for all employees, regardless of age, medical history and service of years. It is fair. Canadians expect us to bring forward a system that would be fair for all, and we intend to do that.