Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today on the adjournment motion.
On March 23, 2001, I asked a question regarding Bill C-2. This bill was aimed at amending the Employment Insurance Act and had not been passed at the time. I asked if the government was willing to withdraw clause 9, which now allows the government to set the premium rate without having to take into account the advice of the Employment Insurance Commission.
The minister answered that even if the auditor general had said that, he had also said something else. However she did not mention the very comments of the auditor general who said that he preferred the status quo in the Employment Insurance Act to Bill C-2 because it created additional uncertainty regarding the use of the money.
Now that Bill C-2 has become law we are faced with a situation where the government has simply created a payroll tax, a regressive tax.
People who contribute to the employment insurance plan pay premiums on their income of up to $39,000 a year. However someone earning $48,000 pays no premium on $9,000 of it, whereas people earning $25,000 pay premiums on 100% of their salary. It is a regressive payroll tax, especially since some people do not pay any premium at all. Foremost among those are we members of the House of Commons.
That means that now that the government has decided that the money it contributes to the employment insurance plan will legally be used to cover government expenses as a whole, we will not be doing our share. We will not be doing our share in this regard. I agree that for people who do not earn a lot of money the situation is rather offensive.
Therefore I am asking the government if it would not be possible to hold a debate as soon as possible on the issue of this payroll tax, because this is becoming a new form of taxation. This is a third way of financing the government's general operations on top of income taxes and the GST. As it is, I find this unacceptable.
If they wanted to use it as a payroll tax it should be a fair tax. Will everyone contribute? Will the cap be raised so that everyone contributes on the basis of his or her income?
As for EI contributions used for debt financing those who earn $30,000 a year contribute on 100% of their earnings. Yet those earning $50,000 a year pay premiums on only 75% of their income. As for us, we are contributing absolutely nothing.
Granted we pay income tax. EI contributions should be used for employment insurance purposes. For several years the government has been raking in $18 billion a year in contributions and gives back only $12 billion in benefits. Now it has legalized the fact such surpluses should not exist.
I would also like to see the government keep its election promise. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister, the member for Bourassa who is responsible for amateur sport, and the minister responsible for Quebec all said there would be a parliamentary committee to bring about a true reform of the employment insurance plan, not just what we found in Bill C-2—like the elimination of the intensity rule for which we had been calling for a long time, but a true reform.
Will the government make the commitment to follow up on the results of the negotiations and the work of the committee, especially if there are unanimous recommendations?
We do not want to wait two months, three months, six months or a year for the government to deal with this issue, because there are women, young people and seasonal workers who still find themselves in an unacceptable situation today. Until measures are taken to correct the fact that a young person who just entered the workforce is required to work 910 hours to be eligible, the situation will remain unacceptable.
I am waiting for an answer from the government. Now that it has realized that EI contributions are a payroll tax and has promised changes, will the government keep its word and starting in June give people an employment insurance plan that enables them to have sufficient income while they are unemployed?