Mr. Chair, during the last election campaign, the Conservative government acknowledged that there was a fiscal imbalance. The imbalance was caused by cuts made to transfer payments. At the time, the Liberals, who were cutting the transfer payments, made cuts to the EI fund. There was a surplus of $6 billion a year, which led to an accumulated surplus of some $51 billion. Those are the Auditor General's figures.
As Ms. Bonsant was saying, six out of ten people pay into EI but do not qualify when the time comes to receive benefits. I am sure we all recall Minister Axworthy's reform, followed by that of Minister Young. They helped themselves to the surpluses from the EI fund, while tightening up the eligibility criteria. Fewer and fewer workers were eligible. The primary goal was to create a surplus of $6 billion a year in the EI fund and then move it to the consolidated revenue fund. You say that this $51 billion no longer exists? They used it to reduce the deficit and balance the budget. It became a hidden tax, on the backs of seasonal workers.
At this time, six out of ten workers are not eligible for employment insurance. With the reforms and the bill proposed by the Bloc Québécois, can we estimate that at least eight or nine out of ten will qualify?