Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind the House that last September I brought to the attention of the minister responsible for employment insurance that department's inability to meet the service delivery standards it had promised in Kanata and other parts of eastern Ontario affected by the downturn in the high tech industry.
It is now eight months later and benefit delivery is still taking six to eight weeks, exactly what was happening before. The promise had been service delivery on benefits in 28 days. I know of nowhere in eastern Ontario where the service delivery standards are being met or are even seeing improvements in performance.
Yet the government demands immediate payment from taxpayers. Anyone who is late paying their taxes or program premiums for employment insurance can expect the swift imposition of interest charges and penalties.
It seems the government feels it can hold itself to a lesser standard than that which is expected of contributors to the very program from which it is now denying benefits. Canadians deserve more.