I would like to talk about one of the basic problems with the way the government is managing EI, including the reform that the government has been implementing for a while and even the measures in place before the reform. In fact, in an interview I gave in my riding, I was asked an interesting question. The reporter had talked to a number of former MPs from all the political parties, Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic, and he asked everyone the same questions. He wanted to know why the management of EI was a recurring problem and why people were never happy. I answered right away. The main reason is that the government consults with employers and employees as little as possible and it independently manages a program to which it makes no contribution. The government invests nothing in the EI fund. The funding comes from premiums.
Clearly, when an entity like the Government of Canada manages a program of the size and complexity of Canada’s employment insurance without consulting those directly affected by the program, people will be very unhappy. At least, the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board was a bit more independent than the government in setting the premium rates. However, not long after the government created the board, it abolished it, despite the fact that the previous budget bill confirmed that the board would just be suspended. The government changed its tune, and now the organization is abolished. From now on, the government is and will be in full control of setting the premiums that, let us not forget, are paid by employers and employees.
I am sure that people across Canada, particularly the workers who want to be heard on the issue, will be extremely disappointed by the government’s attitude. It will not help rebuild the confidence of workers, the unemployed and those who receive benefits because they lost their jobs. Nor will it help rebuild the confidence of employers who, despite the government’s fine promises, will still have to do what the government wants in terms of setting benefits, but with minimal consultation.
We strongly deplore the government’s decision, which once again confirms one thing. As my colleague said, even though it was the Liberal government that helped itself to the $57 billion from the EI fund, it was the Conservative government that made sure that fund was completely closed, actuarially speaking. It was the Conservative government that created another fund with the level of premiums and revenue set at zero, as if the previous $57 billion did not exist. It was the Conservative government that took over the management completely.
The government did not do what it did just with the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board. It did the same thing by abolishing the boards of referees and replacing them with the Social Security Tribunal. Government employees or representatives cannot be aware of everything. Those boards had the advantage of being regional. They were dealing with appeals from claimants whose benefits were denied, but on a regional basis. The boards understood the regional reality. However, the government has centralized that whole process and taken all the power by appointing a number of former Conservative members or supporters to the commission. That process is anything but impartial.
Once again, that clearly shows the Conservative government’s failure to understand, or even its contempt for, the reality of workers and of the unemployed in all regions of Canada.