Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to be on the same topic as my hon. colleague for Acadie—Bathurst. I do not think there is a stronger champion for the rights of working men and women in Canada than my hon. colleague.
We recently learned that the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development stated that the Conservative government had no interest in making it lucrative for jobless workers to stay home. Today I would like to challenge the minister to visit some of the forest communities that I represent and make those statements to workers and their families, who are suffering. I would like her to tell the mill worker whose EI has run out and, after five more weeks, will be faced with natural gas being cut off, telephone and hydro disconnections, mortgage foreclosure and mounting debt incurred for food and clothing.
Layoff equates to an immediate inability to provide for self and family, not to mention the loss of identity. The two week waiting period without benefits, while the household expenses continue to accumulate, is onerous. In British Columbia provincial income assistance or welfare is legislated in such as way as to be basically inaccessible for displaced forest workers. Owning a vehicle worth more than $5,000 disqualifies one from even applying. Forcing people into extreme poverty before they can qualify for income assistance from the province puts them at a disadvantage when seeking retraining or new work.
Even for those eligible, backlogs within Service Canada often mean that files take more than 30 days after the two week waiting period to be processed. This means unemployed workers are going without income for a minimum of six weeks. This puts extreme stress on the family. For many laid off forestry workers, there are few, if any, opportunities to work locally, forcing them to go elsewhere. Older workers or those with health issues may find the demands of changing communities and careers in later life to be an extreme hardship. Leaving communities where homes have been purchased and extended families live, where medical support is in place and where children go to school has a ripple effect on the family and the community.
Some workers may have a partner or other family member who can assist them, while others are facing utter destitution. One worker came into my office and talked about his plans to live in his truck, in the bush, when his mortgage was foreclosed. He plans to start his vehicle periodically during the night to keep warm.
According to Mel Hurtig's book, The Truth about Canada, before the cuts by Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, more than 80% of unemployed workers received employment insurance benefits. In 1986, that figure was 86%. Today, only 40% are eligible and here, in Ottawa, only 21%. It is a disgrace.
And that is not all. Because of cuts at the provincial level by Mike Harris, Ralph Klein and Gordon Campbell, thousands do not have access to employment insurance and are forced to live on social assistance—if their vehicle is not worth more than $5,000.
Between 1994 and 2006, the federal government accumulated a $51 billion surplus in the employment insurance fund. However, in 2006, only 53% of unemployed workers qualified for benefits. Let us not forget that the federal government used the money accumulated by workers, that is to say our money, to reduce the federal deficit.
According to a Toronto Star article of February 25, 2007:
The benefit program must return to being a true insurance policy for those who lose their jobs, not a cash grab by the government at the expense of the most vulnerable in our midst.
In a list of 28 OECD countries, Canada is in 22nd place when one measures benefits in terms of the replacement rates of previous earnings. This is less than one-half that of countries such as Denmark, Finland, the U.K. and Australia.
According to Mel Hurtig, public opinion polls here in Canada show that Canadians put social programs near the top of the list of priorities, well ahead of tax cuts. What we are seeing in this budget is that corporate tax cuts outpace help through EI at a rate of 60 to 1. The target is to bring our corporate tax rate from 19.5% to 19% in 2009.
As far back as 2005, in a list of 22 OECD countries, Canada was in 16th place in regard to the total tax rate as a percentage of profits, below the U.S., Austria and Japan. Our corporate taxes are already some of the lowest while our social infrastructure continues to crumble.
During my prebudget consultations many spoke of the need to reform EI in order to make it more accessible to those who are being hit hard. In a submission received from the Similkameen County Keremeos Chamber of Commerce, it states, “Unemployment insurance reform is long overdue and now is the time to address this”.
It goes on and on. Canadians want a system they have paid into to work for them. It is absolutely unacceptable that in this time of crisis fewer than 40% of those who need help receive it. I have already underlined some cases of what happens to some of those 60% who are not eligible for EI, and our minister has the gall to say that we should not be making it lucrative for jobless workers to stay home.
Another major priority that was reflected during my prebudget consultation meetings with community leaders was that of infrastructure spending. The following points summarize some of the feedback I received.
First, the allocation of funds for infrastructure should be expanded and sped up, for example, the build Canada fund and the gas tax refunds, promised funds that have been held back long enough.
Second, economically challenged communities should be targeted for priority funding.
Third, there is strong support for the Federation of Communities and Municipalities' proposal to work with the federal government to create 100,000 jobs across Canada.
One fear that our small rural communities have is that they will be left out of the funding due to government requirements to match funds. Some communities in my riding, such as Greenwood, do not have enough resources and staff to go through the grant funding process let alone contribute a one-third share. It is my fear that the majority of infrastructure funding will go to big cities that have a strong tax base and that rural Canada will be left behind.
It is the duty of our federal government to ensure that all Canadian communities and the people living in them have the maximum amount of support to weather these tough economic times. They deserve no less.