SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 131 - Nov/21/22

Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)

Nov/21/22 12:07:27 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-32

Madam Speaker, I think it is reasonable for us to get as much time as we need to debate this bill. That is called parliamentary democracy. The opposition parties, or at least the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois, noticed a few things missing from the economic update, such as support for seniors 65 and up and support for seasonal workers. Those workers contributed to EI, but now the number of qualifying hours they have to work to be eligible for EI benefits has changed. It is important to get the space we need to debate all that, share proposals with the government and potentially improve the bill. I could hardly believe my ears when I heard the Minister of National Revenue express astonishment that the opposition parties do not want to rush this bill through and are not supportive of the time allocation motion. She accused them of being mentally unstable. That is pretty serious. The minister said that last spring in response to an opposition colleague, and she did it again on a local radio station in Gaspé. I wonder if my colleague supports those statements and agrees with her.

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Context: House Hansard - 131 - Nov/21/22

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Nov/21/22 3:36:21 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-32

Madam Speaker, I am glad the Bloc has decided to support the fall economic statement. It is really encouraging to see that. In regard to the gist of the member's comments today on employment insurance and benefits, the minister has been very clear in talking about the importance of reforming and making changes to the EI system. We often overlook the fact that during the pandemic, EI and programs such as CERB were brought to the table to ensure that supports would be there for Canadians going through the pandemic, and there have been modifications to the EI system over the last number of years. I am wondering if the member could provide her comments. I can appreciate that the member wants to see an overall reform, but that is going to take some time as we continue to move forward. However, at the very least could she acknowledge that there have been significant modifications and changes over the last number of years?

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Context: House Hansard - 131 - Nov/21/22

Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille

Nov/21/22 3:37:28 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-32

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. During the pandemic, the government reacted quickly and implemented special benefits through EI. These benefits ended recently, leaving a lot of workers and people in need in a tight spot. The EI program already needed to be changed and reformed before the pandemic. People have been calling for that for many years because it is an old program that needs to be modernized. I know that the Minister of Employment has shown a real interest in this and that she is running up against an outdated computer system, which is preventing her from being able to listen to workers and employers and come up with a modern EI program that is better at meeting people's needs. She also said that she is really limited by the people she works with in her department, because they need training and supervision. Quite honestly, I do not think those are good reasons for delaying or not—

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