Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London talk about the EI fund and the money that was in there and how well the economy is doing.
The discussion today about the $15 billion or $16 billion surplus in the EI fund reminded me a little bit about the famous Jim Carey, a Canadian of course who has done very well. In one of his movies, called “Dumb and Dumber”, they found a briefcase full of money. They were in the process of returning it to a lady in Colorado Springs, travelling across the United States, and when they discovered what was in it they decided to borrow a bit to finance expenses along the way. By the time they got there and returned it, it was full of IOUs.
That seems to me a good analogy to use for the EI surplus. Supposedly we have a surplus in the EI fund, but there is nothing there at all. It is just a line entry in general revenue and there is nothing there. The analogy I think is pretty good, “Dumb and Dumber”.
The member talks about how well the economy is doing. We have an economy where we export a lot of product to the United States. Forty per cent of our GDP comes from exports. But I notice in the last 30 some years that our unemployment rate has been about 4% higher through good times and bad than that of the United States. We can actually chart it. In the 1980s we can see the 4% spread. In good times and in bad times it is always there.
I wonder what the hon. member's explanation would be as to why Canada is in the position where it always has an unemployment rate which is 4% higher than the United States which is one of our major trading partners.