Mr. Speaker, the same government will, for the first time, this coming January, impose a payroll tax on all the employers who hire part time employees working fewer than 15 hours per week.
Since premium rates represent in fact a tax on jobs-and we are not alone in thinking so-and since the employment insurance fund is forecast to grow from $5 billion this year to $10 billion next year, what is the minister waiting for to substantially reduce premium rates, as requested by the official opposition, the business community, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, instead of using the fund to artificially reduce the deficit?