Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Honourable members of the committee, good afternoon. I appear before you today to talk about the situation facing workers in seasonal industries who live in regions that revolve around those industries. Seasonal industries have always played an important

Human Resources committee  Plants that employ seasonal workers received money to protect those workers, and provide them with face shields and, in some cases, install barriers to separate them. We've also seen major discrepancies in the bonuses those workers have been receiving during the COVID-19 pandemi

Human Resources committee  Are you asking me?

Human Resources committee  As I said, seasonal workers are back at work in the plants. Those in the tourism sector are as well. Only those who work in peat production and forestry are not back yet, but I don't know whether they went into isolation to receive the money. There's no doubt that those working

Human Resources committee  That's a very good solution. Certainly the seasonal workers were in a black hole. A provincial government pilot project ended in late March. At that point, I received many calls, over 300 in one week. People were calling me because many of them were in a black hole and had no in

Human Resources committee  That's exactly what I mean.

Human Resources committee  Exactly. We're disappointed that the pilot project isn't permanent yet. We held meetings with all the Atlantic regions, which is significant. We then had meetings in Rimouski with all the people from Quebec. We prepared a report, which we submitted to the minister. However, I don

Human Resources committee  At this time, the hours issue must be resolved. The divisor must be reviewed and the calculations must be adjusted. It's also necessary to change the areas, which don't meet needs. For example, Restigouche—Albert is quite close to the Moncton suburbs. When we talk about “changin

Human Resources committee  I found it difficult that seasonal workers were told that COVID-19 was very dangerous. People weren't really informed. They came back to work feeling very afraid and worried. People were very worried about returning to the plants, because 300 people work in the plants, crammed to

Human Resources committee  I think so. As I said, people are returning to work feeling very worried and afraid. Many of these people have called to tell me that they weren't really protected and that they had only a visor and a small mask. Some of them have passed out while breathing with this protection,

Human Resources committee  I believe that you have two areas in Prince Edward Island. In my opinion, on a small island such as yours, only one area would be necessary. Take the example of my area, Restigouche—Albert. Albert is close to Moncton, so close to urban centres. In terms of work, from an economic