Mr. Speaker, on May 24, 2018, I asked the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development in the House when he and his Prime Minister would keep their word and increase the 15 weeks of EI sickness benefits.
The Liberals once again demonstrated their lack of interest in our most vulnerable citizens by ignoring a motion that I moved before the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities to review the EI sickness benefits program, which currently provides for 15 weeks of benefits.
Had the committee conducted a study and heard from experts, sick workers, and unemployed workers, the government would have seen that this outdated legislation needs to be updated. This study would have led to a comprehensive report being tabled in the House with practical recommendations regarding the usefulness of the statutory 15 weeks of sickness benefits.
I am astonished that the Liberals rejected this request for consultation out of hand, considering how much they like to consult. I am especially disappointed because hundreds of thousands of people need those benefits. What are the Liberals so afraid of?
They repeatedly promised to review the Employment Insurance Act, which was last changed nearly 50 years ago. The act is way out of step with what today's society needs. The sickness benefits program still lasts only 15 weeks, and thousands of families and sick people find it hard to make ends meet as a result. How can a low-income patient get by financially under such conditions? As I have repeatedly told the House, a seriously ill person cannot get better by the time their 15-week benefit period ends. That is deplorable.
This law has remained unchanged since 1971 and is causing financial insecurity for thousands. Over one-third of current beneficiaries need much more than the 15 weeks provided for under the program. People recovering from cancer need 52 weeks on average to get better.
The government should make this issue a top priority and update the law to ensure that it reflects what Canadians need at this point in time, now that one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. The time to act is now.
Inspired by her own experience, Marie-Hélène Dubé has been taking on the federal government over its inaction on this file for nearly 10 years. Ms. Dubé created an online petition called “15 weeks to heal is not enough!”, which has been signed by 600,000 Canadians who are calling on the government to extend sickness benefits to offer the best possible conditions for recovery.
I will be holding a town hall meeting on the theme of “15 weeks to heal is not enough”. I invite the people of Saint-Hyacinthe and Acton to come meet their neighbour, Mélanie Pelletier, who, like hundreds of thousands of people, exhausted her EI sickness benefits. I was deeply moved by Mélanie's story, and I invite all of my constituents to come support our neighbour Mélanie and the thousands of people like her who need more than 15 weeks to heal. I hope to see many of my constituents there.
Once again, the government has failed to keep its promises. The 15-week sickness benefit system has been around for 47 years now and is completely outdated.
This should not be a partisan issue.