Mr. Speaker, the hon. member says it is down from $3.05. That is good. I am glad they brought it down from $3.05 to $2.55. The fact is they suddenly stopped. They stopped within 55 cents per $100 of what the EI commissioner said was sufficient to maintain the EI fund as well as to provide for a rainy day fund in case there was a dramatic decrease in the economy and more people were claiming benefits. It is still several billions of dollars ahead of what is required to sustain the fund and provide for EI benefits.
While we are on the subject, the Liberal government has cut benefits to EI payees, to the workers in Canada. It has cut benefits by almost 40%. Almost 40% of the benefits that were available to workers in Canada before the government came to power in 1993 have been eliminated. Millions of Canadian workers are still paying the price for the plan they had in 1993 but the benefits of the plan have been cut by about 40% by the government. That is one of the ways the Liberals managed to eliminate the deficit and of course it is another tax increase.
Now the Liberals are planning on scooping, I think the number is about $30 billion, from the public service pension fund. One has to ask if this government simply has no shame when it comes to scooping money. These funds were contributed, yes by the government, but in good part by the public servants themselves who work for the government.
The government says no, it has this surplus and it is not going to use it to enhance the retirement benefits of the public servants. Rather it is going to take it all out of there because after all, it is in its bank so it can do it. That is a pretty high-handed attitude from this Liberal government which has always claimed that it is a government which is there to represent the people and to reflect in its policies the wishes of the Canadian people.
I see the hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam is in the audience. I am glad he is because obviously he needs as much exposure to debate in the House as he can possibly get so he can catch up to the rest of us.
What we have here is a give them a dime take another dollar type of government. This government is like someone who will take the whole jug of water away from someone who is about to embark on a desert trip.