Mr. Speaker, this is an e-mail I received today from a frustrated Canadian job creator:
As small business owners, my wife and I employed 15 people in various permanent, seasonal and part time roles in 1998. Of those 15, it was known all along that 11 of them would be working for four months or less. Several were students, had no other employment during the year and hence would never be eligible for employment insurance benefits. Nevertheless, we deducted a total of $856.52 as EI premiums from these individuals, matched by $1,199.13 from our business.
It should be no mystery that the reason the EI program is running a surplus is because recent changes have made it more difficult to qualify for benefits and because premiums are collected from people who will never be able to qualify. This is unfair, unjust, a drain on the private sector and on the poorest households in our country.