Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee.

Of all the issues related to the problems with employment insurance, the treatment of workers in seasonal industries is the most glaring. In Canada, these industries are mainly in outlying regions. It is also the most symptomatic of the problem with the employment insurance program. It is a symptom of a broader problem that is experienced perhaps more intensely by seasonal workers.

The basic problem stems from the fact that the program parameters have not been adjusted since the last major reform, which happened in 1996. This is particularly the case with the table of benefits. The table tells applicants what they are entitled to based on the number of hours worked, the unemployment rate in their region and the benefit period.

Although Canada has 64 employment insurance regions, when the table was drawn up in 1996, there was only one employment insurance region with an unemployment rate of 6% or less. In that region, workers had to accumulate 700 hours of work in order to qualify for 14 weeks of benefits. Today, that applies to 39 of the 64 regions. Now, almost 60% of workers have to accumulate 700 hours of work to be able to qualify.

Another concurrent problem is the lack of adjustments to the employment insurance regions. Since 2000, no adjustments have been made to follow changes in the labour market. Our regions are not up to date.

The actual result of the lack of adjustment is a kind of hidden reform of employment insurance that basically prevents a large part of workers from accessing employment insurance, or makes it much more difficult for them to do so, because most workers are ineligible.

There is good news, however. In theory, the unemployment rate is going down. That's why benefits are harder to qualify for. However, the problem is that the drop in the unemployment rate is not always a sign of good economic health. That is the case for some regions where employment is growing and everything is going well.

I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you that I am currently taking part in a meeting in Rimouski with labour and community groups in the North Shore, Gaspé Peninsula and Lower St. Lawrence regions to talk specifically about seasonal work. These groups feel that it is a very pressing issue for their local communities.

I have heard quite a lot today, but to go back to the unemployment rate as a sign of prosperity, I will give you one scenario.

In the Gaspé region, the unemployment rate has dropped from around 17% to 7% over the past 10 years. Ten years ago, after working 420 hours, a person qualified for 32 weeks of employment insurance, which was enough to get them through the off-season. Today, the same person who holds the same job at the same employer would need 630 hours to qualify for employment insurance for 14 weeks, which is not enough to get them through the off-season.

I could talk about other parameters. For example, I would be very happy to talk about applicants' best weeks.

What I was trying to get at is that in many regions, not only in eastern Canada, the unemployment rate drops due to regional devitalization.

That doesn't mean there are more jobs. There are 1,000 more jobs in the Gaspé than there were 10 years ago. However, 7,000 people have left the workforce. The unemployment rate is a ratio. It can go down for more than one reason. In this case, the reason is regional devitalization rather than an economic boom.

I'd be happy to talk more about that and the pilot project as well—

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