SPEECH – BUDGET 2009
February 3, 2009
Alex Atamanenko, MP
Mr. Speaker, we have recently learned that the Minister for Human Resources stated that the Conservative Government has no interest in making it “lucrative” for jobless workers to stay home. I would like to challenge the Minister today to visit some of the forest communities I represent and make that statement to workers and their families who are suffering.
I would like her to tell that to a mill worker whose EI has run out, and even after 5 more weeks, will be faced with natural gas being cut-off, telephone and hydro disconnected, mortgage foreclosure and mounting debt incurred for food and clothing.
Lay-off equates to an immediate inability to provide for self and family, not to mention the loss of identify. The 2 week waiting period without benefits while household expenses continue to accumulate is onerous.
In British Columbia, provincial income assistance (welfare) is legislated in such a way as to be basically inaccessible for displaced forest workers. Owning a vehicle worth more than $5000 disqualifies one from even applying.
Forcing someone into extreme poverty before they can qualify for income assistance from the province puts them at a disadvantage when seeking retraining or new work.
Even for those eligible, backlogs within Service Canada often mean that files take more than 30 days after to the 2 week waiting period to be processed. This means unemployed workers are going without income for a minimum of 6 weeks. This puts extreme stress on the family. For many laid-off forestry workers there are few, if any, opportunities to work locally, forcing them to go elsewhere. Older workers or those with health issues may find the demands of changing communities and careers in later life to be an extreme hardship. Leaving communities where homes have been purchased and extended families live, where medical support is in place and where children go to school has a ripple effect in the family and community.
Mr. Speaker, some workers may have a partner or other family members who can assist them, while others are facing utter destitution.
One worker who came into my office talked about his plans to live in his truck in the bush when his mortgage is foreclosed – he plans to start his vehicle periodically during the night to keep warm.
M. le président, selon l’autur Mel Hurtig dans son livre, The Truth About Canada, avant les coupures de Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien et Paul Martin plus de 80% des chômeurs recevaient les prestations d’assurance emploi. En 1986, c’était 86%. Aujourd’hui le pourcentage n’est que 40% et ici à Ottawa c’est seulement 21%.
Quelle honte, M. le président!
Et puis, cela n’est pas tout! A cause des coupures au niveau provincial de Mike Harris, Ralph Klein et Gordon Campbell des milliers des gens n’ont pas access à l’assurance emploi et sont forcés à vivre de l’aide sociale (si leur camion ne vaut plus de $5000….).
Entre 1994 et 2006 le gouvernement fédéral a accumulé un surplus de l’Assurance Emploi de $51 milliard de dollars. Mais en 2006 seulement 53% des travailleurs sans emploi avaient le droit aux prestations. [Rappelons que, le fédéral a utilisé l’argent ramassé des travailleurs (notre argent) pour réduire le déficit fédéral].
According to a Toronto Star article of February 25, 2007, “the benefit program must return to being a true insurance policy for those who lose their jobs, not a cash grab by the government at the expense of the most vulnerable in our midst”.
Mr. Speaker, in a list of 28 OECD countries, Canada is in 22nd place when you measure benefits in terms of the replacement rates of previous earnings. This is less than ½ that of countries such as Denmark, Finland, the U.K. and Australia.
According to Mel Hurtig, public opinion polls show that most Canadians put social programs near the top of their list of priorities, well ahead of tax cuts. And yet, what are we seeing in this budget is that corporate tax cuts outpace help through EI at a rate of 60 – 1.
The target is to bring our corporate tax rate from 19.5% to 19% in 2009. And yet, as far back as 2005, in a list of 22 OECD countries, Canada was in 16th place in regard to the total tax rate as a percentage of points – below the US, Austria and Japan. So our corporate taxes are already some of the lowest while our social infrastructure continues to crumble.
Mr. Speaker, during my pre-budget consultations, many spoke of the need to reform EI in order to make it more accessible to those that are being hit hard.
In a submission received from the Similkameen County Keremeos Chamber of Commerce, it states, “unemployment insurance reform is long over-due and now is the time to address this.
Further, we have a number of members who said that the amount a person receives on EI should reflect their contribution into EI”.
And it goes on and on.
Canadians want the system they have paid into to work for them. It is absolutely unacceptable that in this time of crisis, fewer than 40% of those who need help receive it.
I have already underlined some cases of what happens to some of those 60% who are not eligible for EI, and our Minister has the gall to say that we should not be making it lucrative for jobless workers to stay home.
Mr. Speaker, another major priority that was reflected during my pre-budget meetings with community leaders was that of infrastructure spending. The following points summarize some of the feedback I received:
1 The allocation of funds for infrastructure should be expanded and sped-up (e.g. Build Canada Fund, Gas Tax Fund) – promised funds have been held back long enough.
2 Economically challenged communities should be targeted for priority funding.
3 There is strong support for the Federation of Communities and Municipalities (FCM) proposal to work with the federal government to create 100,000 jobs across Canada.
Mr. Speaker, one fear that our small rural communities have is that they will be left out of the funding due to the requirement to match funds. Some communities in my riding such as Greenwood do not have the resources and staff to go through the grant funding process let alone contribute a 1/3 share.
It is my fear that the majority of infrastructure funding will go to big cities that have a strong tax base and that rural Canada will be left behind.
Mr. Speaker, it is the duty of the federal government to ensure that all Canadian communities and the people living in them have the maximum amount of support in order to weather these tough economic times.
They deserve no less!
Tags: unemployment