House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 65% of the vote.
Employment Insurance November 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I will tell you who will not welcome this announcement. The largest number of Canadians paying employment insurance are the poorest of the working poor, Canadians earning less than $10,000 a year. Literally two million of them will get hit by the Prime Minister's EI changes.
Why is the Prime Minister picking on the poorest Canadians for this employment insurance tax grab?
Employment Insurance November 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister was scheduled to meet with the Employment Insurance Commission on November 13. Today we are hearing that the minister wants to delay his EI announcement until after November 30. Employers and employees must now wait until after the Quebec election to learn how much they will be ripped off in EI overpayments.
If the finance minister's EI changes are not bad news for workers and businesses, why is he waiting until after the Quebec election to make his announcement?
Employment Insurance November 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister admits that he wants to skim money from the employment insurance fund, money that is not his, but there is one small problem: it happens to be against the law.
The Prime Minister has ordered the finance minister to meet in private with the Employment Insurance Commission to get it to change the rules without public scrutiny or debate.
Why this hush-hush meeting to change EI? Is the Prime Minister actually ashamed, as he should be, of what he is doing?
Employment Insurance October 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claimed the other day he wanted an open debate on this issue, but he has failed to bring an amendment before the House for debate to change the EI fund.
Instead he is sending his finance minister to meet with the employment insurance commission to try to change the rules behind closed doors.
Will the Prime Minister commit to a debate and a vote in the House on an amendment to the Employment Insurance Act, or will he try to change it behind closed doors through regulations and orders in council?
Employment Insurance October 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister quoted from a 1995 document when the deficit was $38 billion. I remind the Prime Minister this is 1998.
The average worker is paying $350 too much per year into the insurance fund. The average small business is paying $500 per worker too much into the fund, but any surplus still belongs to the people who paid it.
Will the Prime Minister come clean and make his position clear? Does he acknowledge that these funds belong to the workers and the employers? Yes or no.
Employment Insurance October 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, section 66 of the Employment Insurance Act safeguards moneys paid by workers and employers into the fund. It is to be used to make insurance payments to unemployed persons and for no other purpose. Despite this law the Prime Minister wants to grab the surplus from this fund and spend it on other things.
Does the Prime Minister intend to break the law, or does he intend to change the law to permit him to raid the employment insurance fund?
Employment Insurance October 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, to weather the coming economic storm that the Prime Minister himself is predicting, workers need an employment insurance fund they can count on and they need more dollars in their own pockets today. Both of those objectives are damaged by a government raid on the employment insurance fund.
My question again is why does the Prime Minister not call off the heist and cancel the government's plans to raid the employment insurance fund?
Employment Insurance October 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, last night the Prime Minister talked about weathering the coming economic storm, but that would be easier for most Canadians if payroll taxes were lower. Right now the average worker pays $350 a year too much for employment insurance and the average small business pays $500 more per employee, per year than it should.
With the economy slowing down, why does the Prime Minister think that workers and small businesses can do without this money?
Employment Insurance October 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, last night the Prime Minister lumbered through a half hour speech without starting a new national crisis. No reference to baseball bats or the constitution; it was good. There was no mention either of the Prime Minister's plan to take money from the employment insurance fund to spend on pet Liberal projects. Does this mean that the government has seen the light and has cancelled its plans to raid the employment insurance fund?
Quebec Election October 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the impression the Prime Minister gave by his remarks over the weekend was that the federation is not open to change.
What the Prime Minister should be telling Quebeckers is that there is a positive demand for change outside Quebec and that Quebeckers do not have to decide between the status quo and sovereignty.
Will the minister help the Prime Minister to get his foot out of his mouth and tell Quebeckers today that reform of the federation is a viable option for the future?