Human Resources committee  At present there is no employment insurance fund. The federal government has spent the money in the fund. So anything we did would be better. Based on my experience in Quebec, the CSST or other government agencies the partners sit on are very easy to track. The financial reports

Human Resources committee  [Editor's Note: inaudible] There were years when it was above $5 billion. I have been told there were surpluses of $7 billion some years.

Human Resources committee  We know there is no employment insurance account. The money goes in and is recorded in the federal government's current expenditures, and it pays out benefits. In terms of the accounting, the government, whether it be yours or the previous one, has acknowledged that debt in cour

Human Resources committee  It is the Canada-Quebec labour force training agreement, which was signed in 1996. The transfer is based on a certain percentage of the assets in the employment insurance fund: 0.008 percent. This provides Quebec with about $597 million a year.

Human Resources committee  That's right. It's a fund. The Government of Quebec injects $240 million. Emploi-Québec and the commission of partners manage about $850 million intended for worker training. Emploi-Québec's operating budget is about $120 million and that is not taken from the fund; it is provide

Human Resources committee  Yes, but the money that comes from the federal government is used strictly for training unemployed workers, based on the criteria.

Human Resources committee  That's right.

Human Resources committee  I agree with my two colleagues. We are asking for one thing specifically, among others: this entire appointment question has to be clarified, and there have to be employer and union representatives on it. As Mr. Blakely said, if they need experts, all they have to do is hire them

Human Resources committee  To answer your question directly, sir, I would say no. It is not a waste of money to create this board; what it is, is a step in the right direction. There are a lot of things in this that need improvement. We have been battling the federal government on this for 15 years, to cha

Human Resources committee  The money that is being used at present comes from the regular employment insurance fund and not the $54 billion, which was accumulated outside the spending by the fund. The money transferred under the Canada-Quebec agreement is part of the operating expenses of the employment in

Human Resources committee  No.

Human Resources committee  I am going to answer for Quebec. Under the Canada-Quebec agreement on worker training, the employment insurance fund transfers $597 million dollars to Emploi-Québec. Emploi-Québec is managed by a minister, a deputy minister and a commission of partners. Twenty-four partners, who

Human Resources committee  We have 20 minutes! That will be enough to persuade the federal government to change its mind. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the committee for inviting us. We represent four organizations, although there is no CSQ representative with us today. The FTQ, the CSN, the CSD and

Human Resources committee  We have participated in a lot of negotiations in the airport sector, and up to this point, none of the airports has close down. As I have said, there was a strike at the Quebec city airport that lasted several months, and the airport operated just fine. The employer did not use r

Human Resources committee  Absolutely not. That is not what experience has shown. It is not the right to strike that is being challenged, but rather the right to hire replacement workers. I can give you some examples, such as what happened with the Quebec Government. When it called for central services to