Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.
We are not close-minded in the Bloc Québécois. We gladly welcome the additional provisions, for seasonal work, for example.
I am from Charlevoix, and from Isle-aux-Coudres specifically. It is only accessible by ferry. I am quite familiar with the notions of worker retention and employment insurance. I welcome our friend's announcement about the additional weeks of benefits provided through training. I acknowledge that this will be helpful.
I would, however, like to get back to the topic of employment insurance for serious illnesses. We cannot expect a worker to come work in the region, in Isle-aux-Coudres, in Charlevoix, on a seasonal basis without some sort of guarantee of peace of mind and the assurance of being insured.
When we invite workers, whether they are newcomers or people leaving urban centres in search of fresh air, they do not want to lose any economic status. We really go all out to try and encourage people to come and work in the regions. Then we have to tell them that, if they fall ill, they only have 15 weeks to recover. After that, they can either die or get better, because they do not get any more. That is a real problem, because people say that they would have liked to come and work, but perhaps some other time. They turn their backs and disappear.
The big question at the heart of the motion that we are introducing today is also an economic issue for the regions. There is a direct impact. If we do not arrange to fix EI so we can reassure people who want to come work in the regions, we are going to compromise the regions economically and jeopardize their economic vitality. That point has not been raised much today.
There have been a lot of emotional speeches, and I can do that too. Our colleagues opposite are really fond of figures, so we are going to give them some. They have to understand that.
Given that my colleague seems to be open to seasonal work, I wanted to ask him whether he can guarantee that his party is open to giving sick workers 50 weeks of benefits.
That does not mean that sick people will use 50 weeks as a matter of course. As my friend was saying earlier, people are eager to go back to work. Nevertheless, we want to make sure that people who are very sick have 50 weeks to get better.