Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2009-11-03 10:55:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Nathan Cullen (Skeena\u2014Bulkley Valley, NDP)",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"1668758\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my friend, which consists of two points.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668759\" data-originallang=\"en\">The notion of a special committee set up over the summertime was a bit of a failed legacy. It put things on time delay more than anything else. The prospects of getting together and having some sort of agreement between his party and the Conservatives on something like EI was very unlikely, at best.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668760\" data-originallang=\"en\">I have a question about the transfer and the creation of this independent body from government, which is employment insurance now. When the transfer was made, some $2 billion were provided. One of the concerns we raised at the time was it would not be enough money in the event of any type of recession or downturn in the economy. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668761\" data-originallang=\"en\">The employment insurance fund had been robbed of more than $50 billion over the years, over-collecting employment insurance premiums. Then when the government created this new entity at arm's-length from government, it did not transfer more than $50 billion. It transferred a couple of billion dollars. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668762\" data-originallang=\"en\">It did not feel like insurance at all for workers in case something were to go wrong and the government seemed to lowball what might be required to be paid out. Now we have this hodgepodge measure where we have to force the government to come back to the table with more support for the unemployed. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668763\" data-originallang=\"en\">I come from a region that has been very hard hit for a number of years, more and more unemployed in the forestry, fishing and mining sectors. I know he is familiar with such similar circumstances. Was it right for the government to have created this body and seed it with so little money compared to what the government had extracted from it? It was so ill-prepared for any hard times down the road?</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"1668758\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, j'aurais une question \u00e0 deux volets pour mon ami.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668759\" data-originallang=\"en\">L'id\u00e9e d'\u00e9tablir un comit\u00e9 sp\u00e9cial qui devait se r\u00e9unir pendant l'\u00e9t\u00e9 a laiss\u00e9 un souvenir amer. Avant tout, elle a eu pour effet de faire tra\u00eener les choses. Au mieux, il \u00e9tait fort peu probable que son parti et les conservateurs parviennent \u00e0 s'entendre sur un dossier comme celui de l'assurance-emploi.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668760\" data-originallang=\"en\">J'ai une question au sujet du transfert et de la cr\u00e9ation de cet organisme ind\u00e9pendant, qui s'occupe maintenant de l'assurance-emploi. Lorsque le transfert a \u00e9t\u00e9 r\u00e9alis\u00e9, quelque 2 milliards de dollars ont \u00e9t\u00e9 vers\u00e9s \u00e0 l'organisme. \u00c0 cette \u00e9poque, nous nous sommes dits inquiets, notamment du fait que cette somme ne serait pas suffisante en cas de r\u00e9cession ou de ralentissement \u00e9conomique.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668761\" data-originallang=\"en\">Au fil des ans, on a d\u00e9rob\u00e9 \u00e0 la caisse d'assurance-emploi plus de 50 milliards de dollars en percevant en trop des cotisations. Puis, lorsque le gouvernement a cr\u00e9\u00e9 cette nouvelle entit\u00e9 ind\u00e9pendante du gouvernement, il n'a pas transf\u00e9r\u00e9 plus de 50 milliards de dollars; il n'a transf\u00e9r\u00e9 que deux milliards de dollars.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668762\" data-originallang=\"en\">\u00c7a ne ressemblait pas du tout \u00e0 de l'assurance pour les travailleurs au cas o\u00f9 quelque chose irait mal. De plus, le gouvernement semblait sous-estimer ce qu'il serait n\u00e9cessaire de payer. Maintenant, nous avons cette mesure fourre-tout, qui nous oblige \u00e0 forcer le gouvernement \u00e0 revenir \u00e0 la table avec des propositions d'aide bonifi\u00e9e pour les ch\u00f4meurs.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1668763\" data-originallang=\"en\">Je viens d'une r\u00e9gion qui est durement touch\u00e9e depuis des ann\u00e9es. On y compte de plus en plus de ch\u00f4meurs dans les secteurs de la foresterie, des p\u00eaches et des mines. Je sais que le d\u00e9put\u00e9 conna\u00eet bien cette conjoncture. Le gouvernement a-t-il eu raison de cr\u00e9er cet organisme et de lui consacrer si peu d'argent comparativement aux sommes dont il l'a soulag\u00e9? Le gouvernement \u00e9tait-il si mal pr\u00e9par\u00e9 pour les p\u00e9riodes difficiles qui n'allaient pas manquer de survenir?</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2009/11/3/nathan-cullen-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/nathan-cullen/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/1287/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "2932540",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Employment Insurance Act",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2009/11/3/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2009%2F11%2F3%2F"
    }
}