Mr. Speaker, I am happy to join this debate. Certainly, there have been some valid arguments brought up, especially with respect to the size of the bill. I want to speak particularly about one aspect of the bill and that is the changes to EI. However, certainly the size of the bill is worth noting off the top of my comments.
We look at the vast impact it has on so many different government departments and pieces of legislation. To lump them all into one omnibus bill was a practice that was very much frowned upon when our current Prime Minister was a member of Parliament back through the mid-nineties and was the leader of the opposition. He spoke passionately in the chamber about his opposition to omnibus legislation. Probably one of the most interesting debates we could have would be between the current Prime Minister and himself circa 1993, because I think we are looking at two different people with respect to what he said then and how he practises the administration of his duties currently as Prime Minister.
Between the years of 1993 and 2001, the total number of pages in the budgets presented by the then Liberal governments still would not add up to the number of pages in this particular budget and the impact that it has on the various departments.
As I indicated earlier, the Minister of Finance appeared before the finance committee and could not answer two-thirds of the questions because they fell under the responsibility of the Minister of the Environment or the Minister of Fisheries or the Minister of Transport. To lump all of these into one bill, I think it is a huge injustice. We have heard that from group after group. Certainly, we in the Liberal Party do not support a budget of this size and the approach that the government has taken.
I want to speak specifically about the changes to EI but, even more importantly, about the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor that has gone on since the government has taken power. Today there was a study released citing an increase of 31% in the use of food banks since 2006. In a perfect world we would not have food banks. Unfortunately, there are some people who slip through the cracks for one reason or another. However, to see that the usage has increased by 31% since 2006 is substantive.
What worries me is that we know who would be impacted by certain measures in the bill, such as increasing the age of OAS from 65 to 67. It would not impact corporate lawyers.
It is funny that today the Minister of Human Resources talked about what the government is doing with respect to income splitting for the poor people in this country. I am sure the guys down at the Salvation Army hostel were high-fiving each other when they heard that the government is coming forward with income splitting.
First of all, one has to have an income before it can be split. The government has turned its back on the most vulnerable in our society time after time, and certainly in this instance.
When we look at the increase in the OAS from 65 to 67, that would hurt the poor, the low-income earners in our community, the people who are not in a position to save going forward. They are just able to pay their bills from week to week, let alone save going forward.
This would also hurt those people who try to get by living with disabilities. I have had an opportunity to speak with several groups that represent people with disabilities. They say when some of these people hit 65 and get OAS and the guaranteed income supplement, that is the most wealth they have ever had in their entire lives. They hit easy street when they finally reach 65 and are able to receive OAS and GIS. We are widening the gap.
I want to speak specifically about the changes to EI and one of the programs in particular, working while on claim. This was a fairly good pilot project, one that was started in 2005 under a Liberal government and renewed by the Conservative government in 2007 and renewed once again.
It was a program for people receiving EI benefits who wanted to earn some additional money and had an employer who had a job for them to fill. It would allow them to earn 40% of their EI premium. If they were making $200 a week on EI, they could make $80 and keep that $80. It was a program that worked fairly well. For someone making full benefits on EI, they could make $195 without losing a dollar.
The government said it was going to increase the program to 50%, but it did not say the 50% was on total earnings. There was no mention of that being on total earnings. Now what happens is that people lose the 50¢ right from dollar one. Now that person who was making $200 a week and made $80 in a part-time job would lose $40 of that.
What is that doing to our economy, especially in communities that are driven by seasonal industries? I got a call from a farmer from Prince Edward Island. He tried to get someone to come and grade potatoes for an afternoon—