Madam Speaker, many matters can be referred to committees, but they are not as urgent.
Seasonal workers were mentioned earlier. I have known seasonal work very well for the past 30 years. I can assure my colleague that there are eligibility criteria for employment insurance. When a seasonal or full-time worker meets the criteria for their region and unemployment rate, they are entitled to a full 50 weeks of benefits. Seasonal worker or not, if they have worked a certain number of hours over a certain period of time, they are entitled to 50 weeks of benefits. I promise you that is true.
Committees can look at the details. In my speech, I mentioned the spring gap and commended the steps that were undertaken with the pilot project. It had a positive impact in my region, and the gap was starting to close a little.
Another very interesting project is on the horizon. It encourages workers to specialize in their area of expertise or to explore a different field. Employers pay them and get reimbursed by the government.
Those are projects that you brought forward. We applaud them, and we thank you for them. Nevertheless, many aspects of employment insurance can be improved. What we want to do today, as a matter of the utmost urgency, is to enable sick people to buy food and clothing and keep a decent roof over their heads. We are not asking for charity. This is taxpayers' money. In fact, we are all quite happy to—