Mr. Speaker, in his budget speech, the Minister of Finance turned a deaf ear to the heartfelt cries of the hundreds of thousands of unemployed.
The Liberal government had the means to meet their needs, but chose to ignore the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, which had called for a substantial improvement of employment insurance.
This government said no to creating an independent EI fund, so that it could continue to blithely siphon off funds to which it does not contribute one red cent.
To claim the needs of the unemployed have been met, as the Liberal government is doing, is a direct blow to the intelligence of the women and men who are out of work through no fault of their own.
The needs are known, the money is there, but the government has put military spending over social solidarity.