Madam Speaker, my second petition relates to the fact that EI penalizes women with unfair access to benefits. Only 35.2% of unemployed women are eligible for regular EI benefits compared to 52.5% of unemployed men.
Petitioners want the Government of Canada to improve the current EI system by lowering the eligibility threshold, providing a minimum 35 weeks of benefits, increasing the benefit rate to 70% of salary and income, indexing the family supplement income, abolishing total exclusions and amending the Employment Insurance Act in order to ensure that any absence related to pregnancy, maternity and parental responsibilities does not prevent access to regular EI benefits.