Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources Development.
It was reported in the Globe and Mail that the government paid out $440 million in unemployment insurance benefits due to fraud, abuse and mistakes in 1993. An internal investigation and control audit identified a study which pointed to a better focus on who abuses UI, but the use of this focus was prohibited because it contravened the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Will the parliamentary secretary confirm that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which was set up to protect law abiding Canadians from abuse by government, is once again being used to protect criminals at the expense of ordinary and law abiding Canadian citizens?