For every 100 salaried workers who have paid EI premiums, only 46 will qualify for EI when they need it. The remaining 54 will be out of luck. In most cases, we're talking about people who are in temporary jobs and who do not accumulate the hours of work required to qualify.
Our message is the same as the one we conveyed with respect to employment insurance. Creating an independent account is probably a step in the right direction. Never again must we allow the surplus to accumulate as we did for 12 or 13 years, as a result of premiums paid by employees, only to see the money misappropriated and confiscated. Quite aside from the creation of the Board, parliamentarians must seek a consensus on ways of improving the EI system. The benefit-contribution ratio of 46% makes no sense. The percentage needs to increase. Eligibility criteria must be eased.
That being said, I also realize that this has nothing to do with Bill C-50. However, parliamentarians must never forget that $54 billion in employer and worker premiums were misappropriated. I hope that the majority of members will refuse to allow this scandal to be swept under the rug.
Section 80 of the existing act and the proposed changes which would create the Board provide that if the account is in a deficit situation, an advance may be authorized from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. However, the Board will have to repay this advance, with interest. It goes both ways, however. The Consolidated Revenue Fund owes $54 billion to the employment insurance system. Obviously, we're not expecting a cheque for $54 billion to be cut next week, but this money should be accounted for somewhere. Each time the account experiences a shortfall, the money to make up the deficit should come from this surplus. The money is there.