Mr. Speaker, I wish to avail myself of this first opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment as the Acting Speaker of this House.
I listened attentively to the presentation by my colleague from Abbotsford. I would like to speak about the fiscal imbalance, as did my colleagues recently. It is very important for this matter to be resolved in Canada, given the difference between the revenues of the Government of Canada and those of provincial governments.
In addition, I would like to raise the issue of employment insurance. At present, the employment fund surplus totals about $48 billion. Perhaps this surplus will be considered when examining the issue of restoring fiscal balance. Could the government not have immediately retained the idea of establishing the independent employment insurance fund? Thus, the surplus would not continue to grow and to be seen as a hidden tax on a specific category of citizens only. Why did the government not immediately decide to create an independent employment insurance fund?