I have a couple of comments, because I want to make sure that I'm following it.
It's very easy to understand setting up this EI fund, regardless of whether I think it's a good idea or not. All this transparency--that's easy. You collect $2 million; that's where it is, and when you have more, you reduce the premiums. That's really simple, okay? That's not a difficult thing.
My concern goes back to this: up until now, when we did the whole issue of the consolidated revenue, at the end of the budget year we have $50 million that we can reinvest. Some of that's coming from those same premiums that our employers are paying. They had a right to complain when it was as high as it was, but there were reasons that it was that high. Now it's down to a much more reasonable level, but a lot of the money they pay doesn't just go into paying EI benefits: it goes into job retraining programs and so on.
I don't think you're going to be able to answer this question; it's really a question for the minister, and I'll ask if we could get the minister back here for a short period of time before we conclude, just so we can get our questions answered.
I'm concerned with the money. Now we're going to roll it; we're going to have it over there, and then we can reduce premiums, which is just fabulous, but where are we going to get the shortfall of money that up until now was going into providing job retraining programs and all the wonderful things that HRSDC does? There's going to be a shortfall in the money they would normally be getting. I'm concerned that the shortfall for the people who are unemployed isn't going to pay the price when they need job retraining programs and so on.
It really isn't a question for these poor people, who are simply saying this is what this crown corporation's doing.