Mr. Speaker, the first part of the question I asked on November 24 called on the government to substantially lower EI premiums.
Since even the EI fund's actuary says that the fund could be sustained with $2 premiums, I still do not understand why the government is stubbornly continuing to block job creation with overly high premiums.
The government is congratulating itself on having lowered EI premiums by a paltry 10 cents in December. They are perhaps going to say they have lowered them from $3.30 to $2.70, but this is 1998. So we will be listening to what my hon. colleague has to say.
Payroll taxes, however, CPP and EI premiums, were $5.50 when the Liberals took office. They now stand at $5.90, or 40 cents more. And that is just the beginning, because with the CPP amendments, Canadians will be paying $11 billion more over the next five years.
It is hard to believe that the government could be so arrogant as to claim that employers and workers who will have to pay these additional premiums are happy with the situation.
The second part of my question dealt with the auditor general's mandate regarding the CPP investment board. His access to the board's books is limited to the information needed to audit the fund's general accounts.
He is not allowed to conduct value-for-money audits or check if the board abides by the law, and report his findings to Parliament. This is of great concern.
A few months ago, the auditor general informed Parliament of abuses within the Canada Labour Relations Board.
He will not be able to do the same regarding the CPP investment board, which manages the money of thousands of Canadians. The stakes are much higher. And yet, as elected representatives, we will not have a say.