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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 130

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 18, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 130 - Nov/18/22
Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie (Joliette, BQ)
  • Nov/18/22 10:41:23 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his speech. He just went over the whole inflation problem. The word “inflation” appears in the fall economic update 108 times. We know that in contrast to the previous budget, there are no new measures. It is just a rehash. It uses different rhetoric to justify the same measures. The government is rightly concerned that a recession could hit this winter. As far as the recession is concerned, the Bloc Québécois is asking for employment insurance to be reformed as soon as possible so it is ready to go. The government was supposed to have it in place for last summer, but the system still has not been reformed. We would not want to have to create a CERB 2.0 to limit the damage and make up for a failing EI system. Why was this reform not included in Bill C‑32?
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Context: House Hansard - 130 - Nov/18/22
Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)
  • Nov/18/22 11:14:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, with a potential recession in the offing, Canadian workers are exposed to the risk of job loss, but we do not have an adequate employment insurance system to ensure they can pay their bills while they look for work. We should have a system that has a higher income replacement rate. We should have a low universal qualifying hours threshold for employment insurance, and we should have a minimum benefit, but the Liberals chose to do away with those things in September and have yet to present their plan for a new EI system. We also know they are planning to assign 25 billion dollars' worth of CERB debt to the EI account, putting undue pressure on EI premium payers, whether they are workers or small business owners, to carry CERB debt that properly belongs on the general ledger. These are things the government has to deal with as a matter of priority, and we are calling on it to present its plan to Parliament now so that we are not having to deal with the new legislation during a crisis.
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