Mr. Speaker, after the Conservatives savaged EI in Atlantic Canada, it appears that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans perhaps got worried about her seat, because the Conservatives decided they would split P.E.I. in two, effectively dividing islander against islander. The government itself projects that this move would cost the average recipient in Charlottetown $2,560 in lost benefits, and that is if they qualify at all.
My question to the government is: Instead of ramming through this senseless move, why would the Conservatives not just fix EI so that all islanders will benefit?