Mr. Speaker, we froze the premium rates for EI for two years to encourage job protection and job growth. That is going to come at a cost. Next year the arm's-length, independent EI commission will be setting the premiums on a break-even basis for the long term.
What we will not do is use that fund for our political pet projects the way the Liberals did for years. Let us face it: the single biggest threat to raising EI premiums is the proposal by the opposition to bring in a 45-day work year, which would raise premiums astronomically.