Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague giving me the opportunity to shed some light on that. I think a little history lesson would be worthwhile.
Yes, there was a surplus in the EI fund. Prior to 1993, after those years of Tory rule when the unemployment rate was at 12.5%, when inflation was in double digits, when interest rates were in double digits, we were spending $48 billion more a year than we were bringing in, and the deficits continued to grow under Brian Mulroney. The national debt went from $140 billion to $540 billion under Conservative rule.
In 1992, the Auditor General said that we could no longer have a stand-alone EI fund. It had to go into the general coffers because, under the Tories, that fund was bankrupt, and we are seeing a repeat of that now.
The fund was bankrupt under the Tories, but under the Liberal government, the unemployment rate was brought down to 8.5%, 7.5% and 6.2%. More people were paying into the EI fund and fewer people were drawing out of the fund, which was in general revenues. Investments went into health care, transfers to the provinces, and programs and services for Canadians.
That was back in the good old days of balanced budgets and surplus budgets. I do not know what kind of mess we are going to inherit next time, but the sooner we get rid of these guys, the less mess there will be.