Mr. Godin, I often say we're often trying to accomplish the same types of things. I'm concerned about human costs as well, but I think this is an example of where there could be some very serious unintended and very negative consequences to a bill like this.
I refer to a report on poverty, Reducing Poverty by John Richards of the C.D. Howe Institute. One of the points he makes is this: “The impact on employment among those at high risk of incurring poverty should always be a criterion for assessing proposed policy reforms, and policies that embody powerful incentives to enter the labour market usually make sense.” At another point in the report he talks specifically about EI and says, “...note that changes in EI eligibility and benefits were among the shifting incentives that contributed to the rise in the Canadian employment rate and consequent decline in aggregate Canadian poverty rate.”
So he is talking about the very changes that you are talking so negatively about. He is talking about their having led to a decline in our aggregate poverty rate and an increase in employment.
What kind of research have you done that leads you to believe that your changes will increase employment and reduce poverty in this country?