I would like to remind Mr. Saxton that the government raised the premium rate to $1.88 because it ignored the surplus of $57 billion that was there at the time. We have asked the officials who are here with us a number of questions about where the $57 billion reserve is. It turns out that the surplus has actually been fully incorporated into the government’s general revenue fund. That means that, when the government set up the premium rate, it ignored the $57 billion.
So I would like Mr. Saxton to consider the fact that the government made the decision to reform employment insurance, to increase the premiums and to reduce access to the program by ignoring the existence of the $57 billion that came from the premiums paid by employers and employees. Remember that the government has not contributed to the program for over 20 years.