Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to speak to the private member's bill before us.
It is always encouraging when we see members from across the country, who solicit and receive ideas on issues that are important to them, afforded the opportunity, through Private Members' Business, to bring those thoughts and ideas to the House. Sadly, to a certain extent, it is a very small percentage of ideas that ultimately make it to the floor of the House of Commons, let alone pass. Some members have many resolutions, bills or motions. Some, such as parliamentary secretaries and others, are not afforded the same opportunity to bring forward initiatives such as this.
When I looked at the member's bill, the first thing that came across my mind was the issue I raised in the form of a question to the member, which was that, over many years, we have seen name changes, such as from unemployment insurance to employment insurance, but more importantly, we have seen an evolution of society that recognizes that government needs to be able to provide the necessary supports to our workers, to the people who make our economy and help our society continue to move forward in terms of employment and adding value to our GDP. I look at the bill before us as yet another example of how the employment insurance program is able to better facilitate our social responsibilities.
With the pandemic, I genuinely respect the fact that Canadians have really come together in terms of doing the very best we can to provide the type of care that is necessary. I think all of us are very much concerned with, for example, what is taking place in our long-term care homes. There is a great deal of sympathy for those individuals who are ending up having to be hospitalized. We think of our health care professionals, and there is an endless number of stories of people who are passing away and not able to have that last hug or to be in the presence of a mom or dad, or in many cases, a brother or sister, other family members or even dear friends. I believe this has heightened the level of interest in this particular issue.
I often hear comments in debates of this nature about how members of Parliament are in a position of having to provide care or are looking in the future at having to provide care. However, we are actually fairly well off in terms of our ability to meet that need, because of the position we hold and the flexibility that we have, but we are the minority and a very small minority. The public as a whole, particularly our workforce, does not have the same luxury. This is where it is important that we provide, through program development, opportunities for family and friends to be able to be around their loved ones at that very difficult time in their lives.
I would add to these comments by saying that, like many of us, at 58, I am in relatively good health but one never knows. I would like to think that if there was ever a time for me to need the type of support I would like to see, as much as I love our health care professionals and acknowledge the fantastic work they do, I would like to think that my family and friends, in particular my family, would be there for me. I think that all members of the House would want the same thing, and that very same principle applies to all of us.
Therefore, whether someone is at the receiving end of having to face these very difficult health issues, or having to provide the care, I think we need to look at ways in which we can continue to move forward, so that as a society we have the right emphasis on family and end-of-life situations, critical care situations and so forth.
I see I am going to have to continue on when the debate comes up next.