Madam Speaker, in a question I asked during question period, I denounced two situations and questioned the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour about it.
First, the pre-budget consultations that were held by the Minister of Finance and his parliamentary secretary and, by extension, the consultation that was held by the government on its website, were largely used to collect personal data that might be used by the Liberal Party for future fundraising purposes. That is problematic.
For those who did not know, there will be intensive and accelerated pre-budget consultations at the Standing Committee on Finance. However, the fact remains that the government said for weeks that what really mattered was the consultations carried out by the government.
The government is conducting its own budget consultations. This is nothing new, since previous governments have done the same thing. It is not necessarily bad, except that the process that we follow at the Standing Committee on Finance is absolutely essential, since it allows for a broader range of opinions in preparation for the upcoming budget.
That is why we are happy to have an official, formal pre-budget consultation process at the Standing Committee on Finance. However, the fact remains that the behaviour of the Liberal Party members in the consultation process is problematic. That was one of the angles of the question I put to the government.
The second angle is the one I want to ask the government about here today. It has to do with including the changes to the employment insurance system that were proposed and promised. In 2012, the Conservative government completely reformed the employment insurance system, and those reforms were devastating, especially for the regions, which still depend a great deal on seasonal employment. It is not the workers who are seasonal, but rather the jobs. For instance, eastern Quebec still relies heavily on the fishery, agriculture, forestry, and tourism.
In that sense, the objective of the reform was to force workers to find a job within 100 km of their residence. If there are no highways, that is quite far and a long way to travel. This led to reduced access to employment insurance, not only in eastern Quebec and eastern Canada, but also across the country. Today, only 38% of the people who pay employment insurance premiums receive benefits when they have difficulties.
In addition to reversing this reform that was implemented in 2012 by the Conservative government, the Liberal election campaign promises included more specific measures, such as setting a 360-hour eligibility threshold for employment insurance benefits.
Some provinces, such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and even Newfoundland and Labrador, are going through tough economic times. Increasing access to employment insurance would provide immediate assistance to people who are currently struggling and need it.
I would like a clear answer from the government: will the election promise of a 360-hour eligibility threshold be honoured and included in the next budget?