I want to start my time by clarifying some things.
First of all, this bill has.... What it's not is anything to do with setting benefits or programs in EI or changing the EI program in terms of those things. All it is designed to do is, given the benefits and programs that are decided on by the government of the day, to say that we're going to be accountable and transparent in terms of the amount of money we're collecting as a government to put toward those programs, making sure those amounts are in balance.
I'd like to clarify something regarding the reserve, because I think there's some confusion about this reserve fund. The EI chief actuary has done extensive study, obviously, to come up with the $2 billion amount for the reserve. In terms of the one-year looking forward, it refers more to the rate-setting than to how it's going to be paid back. I think that needs to be clarified. If there's a surplus or if there's a deficit, whatever that deficit or surplus, adjustments are going to be made--and we heard this from the officials the other day--according to mathematical formulas that will bring the account back into balance in a systematic way.
The reality is...and I think Mr. Murphy used the words, “We really don't want to see this $54 billion disappear into oblivion”. That's the quote that you used. The fact is that $54 billion has already disappeared into oblivion. It's gone. It has already been spent. And you and I would agree wholeheartedly that is absolutely wrong. It should never have happened.
That money was collected--$31.5 billion from employers and $22.5 billion from employees--over the last 15 years. And now that money is gone. What these changes are designed to do is to ensure that never happens again. I just want to clarify that.
I guess my first question.... Mr. Murphy, you had your hand up, so you want to say something. I'll just ask you on behalf of, let's say, the employees you represent, how important is it that we correct a system that took $22.5 billion from employees and gave it to the government to spend on other random priorities, like the gun registry, for example?