Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments made by the hon. member from the Reform Party, the human resources development critic. At a time of constant change in our society, we welcome the meeting of minds and any exchanges that can take place between legislators and other individuals who are willing to propose new ideas. Although I may not agree with the concept prescribed by the hon. member, I certainly congratulate her on making at least the effort to come up with a new employment insurance plan.
I have some fundamental questions in relation to a couple of points. One deals with the issue of federal-provincial relations, which is preoccupying the minds of the Reform Party members and of course the Bloc Quebecois as well. Other questions relate to the employment insurance package as it relates to small business.
On the issue of decentralization of federal-provincial relations, members of Parliament who have followed this file attentively would probably find that the federal government has made many efforts with all the provincial governments to come up with a plan of action that speaks to the reality of the various provinces. As a matter of fact, the Minister of Human Resources Development has met with many of his counterparts. Part and parcel of this employment insurance legislation speaks to the fact that when we are talking about the tools, namely the self-employment assistance, the skills and loan grants, the top-ups in earnings, the federal government is co-operating with the provinces.
Second, on the definition of decentralization, local empowerment, and the redefinition of the relationship among the individual, the community, and government, it is clear to me that if we are to give vouchers or give the opportunity to an individual to make up his or her choice, that is the ultimate form of decentralization. May I add, it speaks to the confidence the federal government has in the people of Canada.
We believe the people of Canada can make the best choices for their own lives. They understand that in a changing economy they need to upgrade their skills, they need training opportunities, they need the types of vehicles that will ease their transition from the unemployment rolls onto the payrolls of our country.
Talking about payrolls, the issue of job creation is extremely important for the people of Canada. As a result of the measures taken in this bill, 100,000 to 150,000 jobs will be created. Who will create them? Small business, which is responsible for the creation of 85 per cent to 90 per cent of all new jobs in this country.
What have we done to enhance the opportunities for small business? We have lowered the premiums. The hon. member from the Reform Party says it is only a nickel. The reality is that if the hon. member were to calculate the reduction that occurs, not only to premium rates, and include the fact that maximum insurable earnings have gone down from $43,000 to $39,000, business also incurs that saving.
Equally important in this discussion is that it is not only business that gets the tax break, it is also individual Canadians who pay into the fund. That is a very important point to underline.
Another issue is that we believe in building a strong entrepreneurial spirit in this country. I think our actions speak to that. One of the five tools we have outlined in the human resources investment fund is the self-employment assistance program. Since we formed the government, 34,000 people have participated in this program, creating 60,000 jobs. That speaks to job creation and it also speaks to empowering people and giving people the opportunity that is required.
How else is small business being helped? The five tools will enhance the human resources potential of our country, which means we are going to have a better skilled workforce. A better skilled workforce means we can set as a goal high-paying, highly skilled jobs that produce high value added products. That is extremely important to underline as we modernize our economy.
When we talk about modernization, what about the new labour market information system that is going to connect business and people from coast to coast to coast so we may match people and also reduce the time people spend on the unemployment rolls of our country?
These are extremely positive measures, not to mention what we have learned from the past government's error in reference to reserves. By building up a higher reserve we are going to make sure that the next time there is a recession, hopefully not for a long time, or the next time there is a downturn in the Canadian economy, we will not be taxing small business and employees at a time when they need tax relief. This reserve will make that transition from economic downturns to better economic times a lot easier.
This will create stability in the premium rates. It will create jobs. It will create confidence. It will generate the type of confidence that is required so employment opportunities can be increased.
I would ask a simple question to the hon. member. In the employment insurance package the Reform Party introduced to the media a few months ago there are some fundamental flaws. One flaw is that it excludes more people than it includes, unlike our package, which brings in 500,000 people, including 44,500 seasonal workers who were excluded by the old unemployment insurance package. Why does the Reform Party, whether it is on the pension reform package or the employment insurance package, continue to practise the politics of exclusion?