Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to welcome the witnesses and to commend Mrs. Hughes for tabling this bill respecting the 360-hour threshold.
I would like to continue along the same lines as Mr. Lessard. The government has talked about possibly increasing contributions in 2011. I think you already know how I feel about that, given my statements in the House each time the matter is raised. I have talked about the $57 billion that has been stolen from the EI fund. There is no justification for automatically increasing contributions to offset a shortfall in the EI account. The government has made no secret of the fact that it has taken money from the EI account and does not plan to return the funds.
Unless I'm mistaken, according to the Employment Insurance Act, the government should be paying interest on the money it took. We're not just talking about $57 billion, but about the interest on this amount.
Do you agree with me?