Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.
He will remember that three years ago he and the Liberal Party of Canada ran on the issue of jobs. Here we are, three years later, with the highest consecutive period of unemployment, above 9 per cent, that we have had since the 1930s. In the meantime, his government has rejected out of hand any suggestion that the federal government cut taxes.
Today, the first day of the return of the House, I want to make a concrete suggestion to the Prime Minister and the government. Will he not recognize that the EI premiums will lead to a $5.5 billion surplus this year and $5.3 billion next year? That is a total of over $10 billion in tax on jobs. Will he not return the money to workers and small businesses in the country, cut taxes and create jobs as he promised to do three years ago?