Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his remarks. I was particularly struck by the figure he cited with respect to what was lost in employment insurance payouts. It was $20.8 million in his riding alone, which works out, if he has about 80,000 people in his riding, to $260 a person. That is just what is lost as a result of the changes, so I would understand from him that there is a very major and systemic problem in his riding in Winnipeg. I have great sympathy, and I can see where he comes from when he has a situation like that in an urban community.
I would like to ask him one question that has always bothered me, both with respect to this legislation and the legislation as we originally changed it. One of the things that it did not properly address and still does not properly address now is the fact that in Manitoba, I believe it was, people working with school boards in clerical jobs and that kind of thing would work for 10 months, quit, collect employment insurance or unemployment insurance, call it what you will, for two months, and then be re-hired.
One of the things that always distressed me about the system as it existed before we changed it, and as it still exists, is that this seemed to me to be an abuse of the system, because it was a classic case where the employer was taking advantage of employment insurance to pay the workers less for 10 months rather than paying the workers fully for 12 months. Could the member opposite comment on that?