Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to speak to the House when you are in the chair, but this should not divert our attention from the extremely despicable, antidemocratic and deplorable nature of the practice which started during the previous parliament and which brings the government to act offhandedly and to resort to gag orders on issues of crucial importance for our fellow citizens.
I know that the citizens of Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, those of Shefford and those of every other region in Quebec will remember the disregard of this government for members of parliament and the arrogance with which it deals with important issues.
The Bloc Quebecois has always been very much concerned about the employment insurance reform. It goes back to the beginning of 1996, and was sponsored by Lloyd Axworthy, who has left public life. The member for Mercier and my colleague, the member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, an admirable man I am sure my colleagues will all agree, and I know they will join me in applauding him for his extraordinary work on the employment insurance issue—both were worried about the shrinking of the coverage.
I remember vividly the arrogance with which the government answered our questions, particularly the minister at the time, Mr. Axworthy, whenever we said that if this system was maintained not even 50% of the population would have access to employment insurance benefits. When we talked that way, we were accused of being offhand and airy, we were compared to the nutty professor because such a scenario seemed so improbable.
However, the assessment report tabled by the Government of Canada through the Department of Human Resources Development indicates—as was pointed out by the hon. member for Chambly, a well-known authority on social democracy, whose outstanding legal knowledge has earned him, in the past, a brilliant career as a notary and who remains for me a source of inspiration—that nowadays only 4 out of 10 workers qualify for EI benefits even if everyone on the labour market does pay premiums.
Is this not a damning indictment of our democracy and the operations of our institutions? We must understand the difference between an assistance program and an insurance program. Employment insurance is not a charity. Workers as well as employers pay premiums for employment insurance. When things take a turn for the worse and we end up unemployed, it usually comes as a complete surprise due to massive layoffs, job loss or industrial restructuring. These are all circumstances out of our control.
Why is it that we now have a plan—one of the few in the western world I am told—to which the federal government has stopped contributing? It is essentially workers and employers who contribute, not quite equally, to the plan. They do not contribute equally, but they both contribute. Is that the vision of our fellow citizens? Is that what they expect from a responsible government?
We know how fragile the labour market is. I believe I am not mistaken, Madam Speaker, if I say that you yourself are in your early forties. We have both followed a similar path. We were both involved in the labour market without being linked to a single employer. However, my 63-year-old father—whom you would like very much—worked for the same employer all his life.
He raised five children. He worked for a textile company all his life. He started working just before his 16th birthday and worked pretty much all his life for the same employer.
Today, the nature of the labour market is such that this scenario is becoming more and more unusual. It is no longer typical.
We know that most people will have at least five employers and at least five careers over the course of their life and this is why it is very important when we are between jobs to have a plan that is well adapted to this reality.
Is this the case of employment insurance as we know it? Certainly not. What is the most incredible, and I will not hide the fact that it disgusts me, is the kind of servile complacency with which the government party supports the bill. There is not one voice of dissent to be heard. What did the members from Montreal, from Quebec, from the maritimes say about the representations made to them by their fellow citizens? Because, of course, everywhere in Canada, people know that the plan does not make any sense.
Such behaviour by the majority is deplorable. Government members can rise in the House and talk about social justice, about Pierre Elliott Trudeau, about social democracy and boast about being true liberals, but, at the same time, they can, just like sheep, rise in the House and vote without the slightest thought for the poor in favour of a plan that is contributing to making them poorer.
This will end some day, because the people will not tolerate eternally such arrogance on the part of the majority.
I would like to remind the House that we had made a demand that was supported by almost all well informed groups in Quebec. It was that the government present two bills, one being for the creation of an independent employment fund.
The member for Chambly repeated this earlier: the surplus in the employment insurance fund amounts to approximately $30 billion. This is not something trivial. The chief actuary of Human Resources Development Canada himself admitted that this situation does not make a lot of sense. Despite the surpluses I referred to, the government was not able to make the employment insurance plan more generous.
The Bloc Quebecois members have asked that the rule of 910 hours be abolished. It does not make sense that a young person who is new on the labour market and submits a first claim must have worked 910 hours to be eligible. Considering the social conditions young people live in, can this be considered an egalitarian approach. It is already hard enough to find that first job. How can we justify making things even more complicated for those who find themselves out of the labour market for a first time?
Considering the huge surpluses, we had asked that the coverage rate be increased to 60%. This is an absolute minimum. We do not think we are being extravagant. Nor do we feel prodigal in suggesting something like that.
Our pleas were not heard. Because of the servile silence of the government majority, our most needy fellow citizens are being left in an extremely preoccupying situation.