Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by acknowledging the people of Thérèse-De Blainville and thanking them for putting their trust in me. I especially want to acknowledge Émilie Sansfaçon, who is here with us and who received two cancer diagnoses in the same year.
Two cancers is too much for anyone. Apparently, it is too much for the employment insurance system as well. Employment insurance sickness benefits max out at 15 weeks. If treatments last longer, then that is too bad for the sick person. If, for those like Émilie, cancer strikes twice, then they have to make do without EI assistance, even though they have contributed to it their entire adult life. Émilie had to remortgage her home and got into debt; she had to rely on her family for help because she cannot count on us.
When we face adversity, we can give up or we can fight. Émilie Sansfaçon chose to fight, as did Marie-Hélène Dubé, who has been fighting for 10 years. We can fix this problem once and for all. We just need to extend—