Throne Speech contains a vague hint but no promise that action will be taken
Ottawa (17 Oct. 2007) - Are the Harper Conservatives going to do something about the diversion of billions of dollars from Canada's Employment Insurance (EI) fund to pay for other federal programs and initiatives?
There was no clear answer but the throne speech opening a new session of Parliament on Tuesday did contain a hint that the Tories may be considering steps to address the growing scandal.
"Our government will also take measures to improve the governance and management of the Employment Insurance Account," the speech said.
There was nothing beyond that brief reference to indicate what the government has in mind. The speech was written by the prime minister's office and read by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean.
At last report, the EI fund was running a surplus of more than $51 billion, far more than the "prudent" surplus the fund is permitted by law to accumulate to cover annual fluctuations in EI payments.
The federal auditor general has repeatedly denounced Ottawa over the years for running such massive and unwarranted surpluses. Officials say the outside limit for allowable surpluses should be about $15 billion a year.
The size of the surplus has expanded annually for more than a decade, fed by ongoing worker contributions and interest gains. It is expected to take another big leap upward in the current year if nothing is done to restrain it.
The Tories were major critics of the Liberals for running smaller surpluses when they were in power. However, the Harperites have done nothing since taking power themselves to deal with the scandal.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear a labour movement complaint about the ongoing abuse of the fund by both Liberal and Conservative federal governments.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information:
? Supreme Court to hear complaint about diversion of EI funds
? Criminal complaint against Harper over huge EI surplus
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