Human Resources committee  Thank you. I would have liked to speak about various things at several points. I am going to come back to what I said earlier, because I didn't have time to finish. We are all in agreement that premiums must be used only to pay benefits. That is where the problem lies, in my op

Human Resources committee  It can't be part of the surplus. Until 1990, all money paid out under agreements between the provinces and the federal government was taken out of the federal government's contribution to the fund. The federal government stopped making those contributions. Starting in 1996, it e

Human Resources committee  We completely agree on the need to improve the scheme, while taking the surplus into account. What is the government proposing? These two items are being kept completely separate. It says there will be a board. I know that this is a very technical subject, but there seems to be

Human Resources committee  I am having some difficulty understanding what difference there would be. In fact, Mr. Céré talked about the legislation that has been in place since 2005. That could be achieved under the current legislation, as long as the government made a firm commitment regarding the Employm

Human Resources committee  Creating this board, with no commitment to refinance the scheme, is going to lock the scheme in at its present level. I read in the papers that at the committee's last meeting, the Conseil du patronat called for a premium reduction. What will the consequences of that be?

Human Resources committee  On the actual fundamentals, I don't think it is necessary within the framework of the employment insurance scheme.

Human Resources committee  Yes, that's right

Human Resources committee  With serious mechanisms.

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  Entirely.

Human Resources committee  I suggest, for the reasons that have been stated, that it be clearly stated in the Act, maybe in a preamble, that the Parliament of Canada has a constitutional obligation to the jobless and to workers. As we said earlier, this is a social insurance scheme. The premiums collected

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would first like to thank the committee for inviting us. I am a professor of social law at the Université du Québec à Montréal and my specialty is the Employment Insurance Act. I have analyzed Part 7 of Bill C-50, in collaboration with the Mouvement auto