Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to reply to the member, and I hope he will listen carefully. As they say in English “I will put his record straight”.
He has just mentioned the recession as a reason for EI cuts. As it happens, I was my party's EI critic during this period.
We noted that, although this system had had a deficit of only $2 billion, and even though the federal government had pulled out of funding and active employment measures, responsibilities which should normally have been assumed by the government, the fund immediately turned around and started paying for itself.
The truth was that the fund more than paid for itself, because benefits were cut and the government continued to collect premiums, knowing full well—and I have been told this by a senior official who is now with the OECD—what the fiscal impact of the cuts would be. I said to him “But you did not know how it would affect people, the regions, the social impact. It does not make sense that you knew and that you went ahead anyway”. So, yes, it knew what the tax impact would be.
What is true is that, for other spending, the government borrowed from the EI fund, which is made up of the contributions of ordinary citizens and SMBs. That is the truth. This is what it borrowed from.
As for social spending, Canada ranks 25 out of 29 OECD countries. This includes provincial spending and that is why I mention this. When the government cuts transfers to the provinces, this has an impact on all social spending, including that of the provinces. I am not interested in hearing that there can be differences like those among all the countries in Europe, which are the world leaders, and that Canada, which is in 25th position, could aspire to the same quality.
When it comes to social spending, we know that quality resides not just in equipment, but in people in all the forms of assistance, and the duration of assistance. Take a look at the duration of unemployment insurance benefits in Europe.
So, I am sorry but, through this policy, Canada has completely and significantly altered the Canadian values he is talking about.