Mr. Speaker, I put a question in this House to the Minister of Finance. The question was as follows:
The Finance Minister had no difficulty getting in touch with a bank president to try to save the Ottawa Senators.
Now the minister has decided to let the Senators help themselves by giving the team a $60 million tax cut. Regrettably, this money is going to be taken out of the surplus in the employment insurance fund. It is unacceptable that millionaire hockey players are receiving this money.
The employment insurance fund has a surplus of $43 billion. Will the Finance Minister pick up the phone, call the Minister of Human Resources Development, and get the eligibility criteria for the employment insurance program modified?
The Minister of National Revenue responded as follows:
Mr. Speaker, once again the member opposite has asked for information and it would be a Criminal Code offence if I answered.
It is a joke to hear the minister give that sort of answer to a question that is not criminal in the least. The reason I told the Minister of Finance to contact the Minister of Human Resources Development by phone is because it seems this is the method of communication used in her department.
The point I would like to raise again is the following: Does the Department of Human Resources Development not realize—or the Minister of Finance to whom I put the question—that there is room for improvement in terms of accessibility to employment insurance? This evening, we will hear a response from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue.
Let us look at the problem. Take for example people who make Christmas wreaths or people who work in fish plants, such as in southeastern New Brunswick. Officials launched an investigation because these people were banking hours. Now they are proposing that the government make changes to employment insurance.
Even the leader of the Liberal party in the New Brunswick legislature and the chair of the committee will be here in Ottawa tomorrow to meet with the minister to discuss necessary changes in the banking of hours. The Liberal leader and the representative from the Department of Human Resources Development Canada will be here.
We can also see the problem we have in the construction industry. We know that seasonal work is not a problem just in the southeastern part of my province; the situation is the same in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and even in Ontario. Even in Toronto, and in Kapuskasing or Timmins I am sure, there are people working short weeks in construction, finishing up on Tuesdays.
Is there some way for the government to make changes to employment insurance, to make the necessary changes so that people will not be forced to cheat the system because they cannot live with so little, in terms of employment insurance benefits. Employment insurance is there as protection when they lose their jobs.
I find it regrettable that my question, which I asked of the Minister of Finance, was answered by the Minister of Revenue, who is afraid of going to jail. Meanwhile, the government is more dependent on employment insurance than the workers are.
I would like to have more clarification than I got from the minister with her concerns about going to jail. I would like an answer to my question.