Mr. Speaker, I would like to present some facts about employment insurance in Newfoundland and Labrador in response to comments by the hon. member for Burin—St. George's earlier this month.
The hon. member vastly underestimated both the contributions and the benefits to the people of this great province. The member stated that EI contributions this year would total $107 million. The member must have overlooked employer contributions which would bring the grand total of premiums to some $257 million.
The hon. member was even more in error concerning the level of EI expenditures. His estimate of $75 million for the year compares with actual benefit payments of $666 million to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in 1998. Fishing benefits alone totalled more than $84 million in this province. Those are the real facts.