The federal Liberals are joining the NDP and the BQ in fighting the government again over Employment Insurance (EI). Unfortunately, they aren’t fighting the tax hike planned for January 1st: the one that will take more off pay cheques and out of the pockets of employers. Instead, they are fighting to make EI even easier to get and way more expensive for taxpayers.
Private Member’s Bill C-308 proposes a myriad of changes, each of which would make EI both easier to access and more generous to receive. The government claims the changes would cost taxpayers anywhere from $2.3-billion to $4 billion a year.
The biggest change proposed would reduce the number of hours worked for EI eligibility, down from 420 hours to only 360 hours. This would allow for a mere 45 day work year. The TD Bank issued a report in 2009 that estimated this change alone would cost $1 billion. But that’s not all they’re after.
The bill would make permanent the temporary change that added five more weeks of EI benefits; making it permanent at 50 weeks. Payments meanwhile would rise from 55% of earning to 60% of earnings. Finally, they want to change the way insurable earnings are calculated, upping it to the average of the highest 12 weeks over the last 12 months.
The bill is silent on how this expensive change would be paid for. EI premiums collected from employees and employers last year totaled $16.9 billion. A $4 billion increase in costs to the program would require a 24 per cent EI premium hike to pay for it. Otherwise, the money would have to come from a permanent massive drain out of general tax revenue. Keep in mind, this year’s deficit is projected to be $50 billion.
Reckless spending proposals from the NDP and Bloc are not unexpected. However, Mr. Ignatieff’s support is surprising. He and his finance critic Scott Brison -- and John McCallum before him -- have decried the Harper government’s plan to raise EI premiums come January 1st, leaving the impression they oppose them.
Now they are proposing EI changes that will cost taxpayers far more than the hikes already in the works that they decry.
The Bill has already made it through the House of Commons on first and second reading. Today, all opposition MPs again are expected to vote the Bill through at report stage. It then proceeds to third reading and, if passed, goes onto the Senate.
Bill C-308 has slipped under the radar, so hopefully some exposure to this job-killing proposal will bring the Liberals to their senses.
Taxpayers need a real fix to EI. One that allows premiums to reflect job security, that doesn’t encourage “seasonal employment” and that doesn’t unfairly discriminate against prosperous regions. In short, instead of just making it easier to get and more generous, legislators should work to make EI a real insurance program.
