Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. minister for providing an opportunity to speak to this important legislation today.
I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking from the traditional and ancestral lands of the Three Fires confederacy, which includes the Ojibwa, the Odawa and the Potawatomi.
I am delighted to speak today in support of Bill C-24. If passed, this proposed legislation would temporarily increase the maximum number of weeks of employment insurance regular benefits available. It would also make returning international travellers ineligible to receive support from any of the Canada recovery benefits for the period of their mandatory quarantine or isolation.
We do not know how long this pandemic will last. What we do know is Canadians need support for as long as it does last. We need to adopt this legislation to provide Canadians with the support they need. Soon some workers could begin to exhaust their benefits. We need to act now to make sure they continue to receive the income support they need as Canada's economy and labour force continue to recover.
Through this bill, we would increase the maximum number of weeks of EI regular benefits to 50 weeks for claims established between September 27, 2020, and September 25, 2021.
In addition, self-employed workers who have opted in to the EI program to access special benefits would be able to use a 2020 earnings threshold of $5,000, compared to the previous threshold of $7,555. This change would be retroactive to claims established as of January 3, 2021, and would apply until September 25, 2021.
We are not stopping there. We have also promised to introduce regulatory amendments to increase the number of weeks of benefits available for the three economic recovery benefits. That is what we are doing with this bill, and I will expand on that.
We will increase the maximum number of weeks available under the Canada recovery benefit and the Canada recovery caregiving benefit from 26 weeks to 38 weeks. We will increase the number of weeks available under the Canada recovery sickness benefit from two weeks to four.
These measures are important. They take a huge amount of financial stress off workers, give them some of the financial certainty they need and help them continue to provide for their families.
The amendments we are proposing today to the Canada Recovery Benefits Act and the Customs Act would also prevent international travellers who need to quarantine or isolate upon their return to Canada from being eligible for any one of the three recovery benefits during their mandatory quarantine or isolation.
The changes to the employment insurance program and the introduction of the recovery benefits last fall were necessary and had to be put in place quickly to support workers and help them get through this difficult period. The changes we are proposing today address an important issue. They would apply to everyone who has had to quarantine or isolate under the Quarantine Act upon their return to Canada, as of October 2, 2020.
I must mention that individuals who are required to quarantine or isolate because they travelled internationally for medically necessary treatment or needed to accompany someone receiving such treatment could still receive benefits. As well, individuals who need to isolate but would otherwise have been exempt from the mandatory quarantine requirements under the Quarantine Act, such as truck drivers, would remain eligible for the benefits.
Canadians from across the country have been making sacrifices and efforts since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government of Canada has been there to support them from the beginning.
It all started with measures such as the Canada emergency response benefit, the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency student benefit. We provided extra support for families through an increased Canada child benefit, as well as extra one-time payments for seniors and for persons with disabilities. We stepped up and took action to make sure that no one was left behind.
We also created thousands of jobs and training opportunities for youth and ensured that the not-for-profit sector was supported so that organizations could continue to provide assistance to their communities. Moreover, we created the Canada recovery benefit, the Canada recovery sickness benefit and the Canada recovery caregiving benefit.
We have been there since day one, and since day one, Canadians have been making sacrifices. We will continue to be there for them to make sure that they are all treated in fairness.
It has been almost a year since this pandemic began. With the second wave, public health guidelines and the emergence of new variants, we are all living under a cloud of uncertainty. We do not have control over the pandemic, but we do have control over the measures we can put in place to support Canadians.
Let us provide them with assurances that no matter what the future holds, their government will not let them down. I appeal to the goodwill of all my colleagues and hope that everyone will support the changes we are proposing today.