Liberals balance books on backs of unemployed

Sometimes you just don't want to be proven right. And when it comes to the issue of unemployment insurance, this is definitely one of those times.

Two years ago, when the federal government was considering plans to radically restructure Canada's unemployment insurance system, a committee of MPs and senators toured the country to get public input. The committee members wanted to know what Canadians thought of a plan to reduce UI payments and make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

Well, we at the AFL definitely had some strong opinions. We told the politicians that their plan was deeply flawed. We called it a betrayal of working people and we predicted that if the proposed changes were implemented the majority of unemployed Canadians would loose access to benefits.

Not surprisingly, most of the committee members ignored our concerns. They said we were over-reacting. And they reassured us that UI would be there for Canadian when they needed it.

But guess what? We were right and they were wrong. According to figures released recently by the federal government's own Human Resources department, only about 40 per cent of unemployed Canadians currently qualify for benefits under the new UI rules -- down from 87 per cent in 1990. Here in Alberta, less than one third of unemployed people get any assistance from UI.

To make matters worse, Canadians who do qualify for UI receive smaller cheques over much shorter periods than before the so-called "reforms."

As a result of the all these brutal cuts, the UI system has become a cruel joke. Almost all Canadians pay still pay into it, but few actually see the benefits.

The most galling aspect of this whole situation is that the cuts to UI were entirely unnecessary. The UI fund was not in debt. And Canadians weren't "abusing" the system as many politicians (especially Reform Party members) charged.

The real reason the federal Liberals changed the rules is so they could get their hands on the money in the UI fund. By making it more difficult to qualify for benefits, the government caused a huge surplus to develop in the fund -- and they've used that money to pay down the federal debt.

The bottom line is that the federal Liberals have betrayed working people. They've taken money that had been set aside specifically to help the unemployed and they've given it to wealthy banks and bondholders. Paul Martin and Jean Chretein have balanced their books on the backs of some of our most vulnerable citizens. And they should be a shamed of themselves.