Finance Committee on Nov. 5th, 2012

[Mireille Laroche]

To my knowledge, no, there was no one.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

So we got only one side of the story.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

We are really fishing here. We are going very, very broad on this topic. Can we get back to the legislative amendments?

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

I have a point of order.

Mr. Chair, you are the one who actually raised the issue of consultation. I am just asking questions with regard to what you yourself did regarding consultations, so I am just following up on that issue.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

What I did was tie together the pre-budget consultations, the budget, the consultations done by the two parliamentary secretaries, and the budget implementation act.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

You did tie it to the consultation with the parliamentary secretary, and that's why I was asking questions with regard to what you actually raised, Mr. Chair, with all due respect.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

Can I just respectfully ask that we limit questions going forward to the clauses we have before us?

Go ahead, Monsieur Caron.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Since I am running out of time, I would like to talk about the board itself. You are saying that the board has been suspended under Bill C-45. Yet clause 454 says that the board is dissolved.

[Mireille Laroche]

I am actually using the term “suspended” because the government intends to bring it back. The board will then be responsible for setting the rates once the budget of the fund is balanced again.

In fact, a crown agency cannot legally be suspended. That is why the bill dissolves the board. Once the government determines that the account is balanced, the board will be reinstated and it will then be able to set the rate.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Given that the board is dissolved by law, is there a mechanism under the legislation that talks about going back to the way things were before it was dissolved?

[Mireille Laroche]

Yes. I am not exactly sure which provisions deal with that, but there are provisions for reinstating the board, which will be achieved through an order in council.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

So the dissolution is temporary.

[Mireille Laroche]

That's correct.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Okay, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

Ms. Nash is next, please.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Just for information purposes—for Ms. Glover's benefit, actually, since she may not recall this—in 2010 the federal government reduced the EI fund from $57 billion to $2 billion and moved $55 billion into general revenues. That's for her clarification, because she was asking about that and I thought she would be very interested in getting some accurate information.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Do the officials want to respond to that?

Go ahead, Ms. Miller, please.

[Tamara Miller]

In 2010 the government closed the EI account and opened the EI operating account. Again, I emphasize what I've already said a few times: it's part of the consolidated revenue fund, so it's a bookkeeping entry and it is how the ins and outs of the EI account are calculated.

That's all I can speak to.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Can you tell me how much money remained in the EI account?

[Tamara Miller]

Well, as I noted earlier, currently the EI operating account is in cumulative deficit.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

In 2010, how much money remained in the EI account after the move of $55 billion into general revenues?

[Tamara Miller]

I believe the $57 billion was the bookkeeping entry in the EI account. That's in our public record.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

So was $55 billion moved into general revenue—

[Tamara Miller]

It was $57 billion....

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

—and $2 billion remained in the EI account.