Mr. Chairman, the figures we received were consistent with those provided by the deputy minister in 2004. That means that this measure would cost $1.2 billion. At first blush, this may seem costly, but you have to bear in mind that it is a measure that would apply to all EI recipients. You also have to remember that most of these people are low earners: 55% rapof an often very low salary is really not very much. Can we afford it? The same rationale applies. One cent extra in premiums equates to $100 million. That gives us an indication of the amount by which premiums would increase.
Could the fund cope with such a measure? Yes, it could. It has never registered less than a two billion dollar surplus over the course of the past few years. There are often three billion dollar surpluses. The surplus has stood at $3.3 billion for the past two years, and that is at the current premium rate.
Furthermore, let us not forget that members of this committee should continue to fight for the return of the money that was misappropriated from the fund. We certainly will not give up. We are not simply going to pretend that nothing happened. The money was used for other purposes when it ought to have been used to provide benefits for people who had lost their jobs.
My colleague used the word “theft”. It is, at the very least, a serious economic crime, especially from the point of view of those who were directly affected--those who lost their job, their family and their community. It also left the economies of each of our ridings $30-$35 million worse off. The EI fund is a powerful regional economic lever. You cannot talk about fighting poverty without studying our social safety net. The EI fund is a key element of our social safety net.
I am not really addressing the Conservatives this morning, as they do not have an anti-poverty policy. I am, however, addressing our Liberal colleagues, because they claim to want to introduce an anti-poverty policy. I would be interested in seeing the details. A credible policy has to pay heed to the need to improve the employment insurance system. I believe my suggestion to be a good idea. The fund can cope with it, especially given that this measure would benefit everybody.