Mr. Speaker, when the hon. colleague speaks of frustration, that is of course something not easily eliminated, since he proposes no changes to us in his comments. He wants us to withdraw the bill, and talked about this and that. He wants to know what I will be doing, what we will be doing, to settle the issue of benefit calculation, how we will make use of the rule on intensity, which he considers a penalty.
What I would like to see, however-and I hope that we will be informed of it in committee-is what is being formally proposed. If you do not like Bill C-12, tell us what you would do with the present bill to improve it. Give us some ideas. That would be one way of showing that you are equal to the task.
When we refer to those who contribute to the employment insurance program throughout the country, it must always be kept in mind that one of the reasons why we always want to describe the system as employment insurance is that 80 per cent of people across the country who are generally employed are actually working. That is a minimum figure at all times across Canada.
What is very hard to understand is that the 910 hours to which the hon. member refers are, as he knows very well, for new workers. He did not say whether the calculation was during one year, that is 910 hours over 12 months, or whether there is a carry
back to the year before in meeting the number proposed by my hon. colleague, the gentleman who wanted to be sure the figures were accurate.
It is very easy to deform facts, to get people off track, if that is what one wants to do. For example, when reference is made to the surplus, to the Minister of Finance's ability to pocket the unemployment insurance fund surplus, no he cannot. This is a surplus that belongs to the employment insurance fund to which employers and employees have contributed. It cannot disappear into the government's general revenue fund. This business of bending the truth somewhat is what we find a bit frustrating.
I have one final point to make. Only someone from the Bloc Quebecois could tell us that $800 million, the reinvestment fund of $800 million at maturity, is small change. Three hundred million for the transition fund over the first three years, to be allocated to those regions most affected by the reform: small change? For the Bloc Quebecois it is easy to understand that this is nothing, when we see how their Quebec cousin is managing the affairs of the Quebec government.