That is the problem when we only have five minutes to present our positions.
Successive Canadian governments did take $57 billion from the employment insurance fund, and they cut benefits. Yes, the contribution rate went down, but the main problem is that now, over half of all unemployed workers are not eligible for employment insurance.
In many cases, people who are not eligible for employment insurance end up on social assistance as a last resort. Earlier on, she said that this could increase homelessness. I do not want to blow the link between the two out of proportion, but it is clear that more and more workers are losing their jobs and facing a serious poverty situation.
If the federal government had acted more responsibly with the employment insurance fund and had not taken the $57 billion, it could have spent the past few years making the program better. It makes sense to keep a surplus in reserve as a hedge against tougher times when people who lose their jobs need access to employment insurance benefits.
Yes, this is about social needs. This is a social program, but as I said earlier, the employment insurance program also helps stabilize the economy because every dollar given to an unemployed worker, compared to tax cuts, will be put right back into the economy because it gives the recipient buying power. If that person cannot collect employment insurance and has to rely on social assistance as a last resort, he or she will have less buying power, which will just prolong the current economic crisis.
I think that the government should be more proactive when it comes to employment insurance by improving the program and ensuring that in good times, the fund accumulates a surplus so that it can weather the tough times that will undoubtedly follow.