Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking you for allowing me to speak in the late show. My question is intended as a reminder of the one I asked of the minister on October 6 concerning the employment insurance fund.
My question is twofold. One aspect concerns the regulations, which are so restrictive that fewer and fewer unemployed workers qualify for EI benefits.
At the time, I also reminded the minister that no concern was shown for that in the throne speech; quite the contrary. The throne speech reflects something akin to a sense of satisfaction on the part of the government, when all it is saying is that it will check whether the EI fund still meets the needs of the workers.
The minister recognized that there was a problem, not only in Quebec but across the country. That is already something.
My question concerns the steps he intends to take to remedy the situation. This is not an easy situation, especially for those who are out of work.
Things have changed in recent years, especially since 1997. At the time, 75% of all contributors were eligible for EI benefits, compared to only 38% these days.
What this means is that the government has tightened up EI rules so much that fewer and fewer people are now eligible for EI benefits. This situation affects women and young Canadians particularly, since they are the ones with insecure or part time jobs.
I would like to get an answer on this from the government, the minister or the parliamentary secretary.
The second part of my question deals with the EI fund itself. A total of $45 billion were taken out of the EI fund. It is in fact a disguised tax.
The minister told us that it was because we no longer have a separate EI account. But that does not explain why the government has taken money out of the EI surplus, money that should have been used to pay EI benefits to the unemployed. That surplus was used for other purposes, namely to pay off the debt or cover other expenditures, or simply went into the consolidated revenue account.
I would like to hear from the minister or his representative what their recommendation will be about the future use of EI money.