I have to budge in.
First of all, the only thing about employment insurance that is insurance is the title. It has never been an insurance program. It has never been based on insurance principles. It has always been part of the social welfare system. We judge its acceptability by how well it helps the most vulnerable in the population, and the answer is it doesn't help them very much. That's number one.
Number two, the word “choice” is a very problematic word. It's a word economists use a lot. And choice is meaningful for those who have the resources to act on their choice. Choice is a meaningful concept for middle-class families that have money and can exercise choice. You and I are both free to choose to drive a Rolls Royce, but we might have a little trouble.
There's a song, Me and Bobby McGee, that Janis Joplin made famous, and in that song there's a line, “Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose”, and that's what choice means to a lot of people in this country, especially to poor, single-parent women.