Tom Mulcair promises to freeze EI premiums, boost benefits

Tom Mulcair chose a different path from his two main rivals this morning, announcingthat an NDP government wouldfreeze employment insurance premiums for the next four yearsrather than cutting them as his Liberal and Conservative counterparts have promised.

The announcementcomes as Conservative Leader Stephen Harper puts his party's plan to reduce EI premiums by 20 per cent at the centre of a campaign commitment to create up to 1.3 million net new jobs by 2020.

The cut, Harper said during a campaign stop in Winnipeg, would encourage small businesses to expand and hire new employees.

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Mulcair made his promise to freeze premiums in New Brunswick, a province that registered the highest youth unemployment rate in the country last year.

Freezing the premium at its current rate would generate billions in revenue that would otherwise be lost if the NDP's political rivals form government money that Mulcair said will be used only to fund programs aimed at boosting employment and expanding training.

A New Democratic government would alsoextend the leave of the second parent of a newborn child by five weeks, Mulcairsaid.

The proportion of unemployed Canadians who qualify for EI payments has fallen steadily, from around 80 per centin 1990 to less than 40 per centtoday a decline that Mulcair attributed to increasingrestrictions placed on eligibility requirements by successive Liberal and Conservative governments.

Those most likely to be denied benefits tend to be in the most precarious and poorlypaid jobs, often in the service industry.That in turn leads to regional disparity in eligibility rates. In Toronto, for example, only 26 per centof those who lose their jobs receive any EI benefits.

Speaking at a campaign event in downtown Montreal, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said the NDP's plan falls short of what Canadians expect.

"Mulcairannounced today he is going to maintain EI premiums at the high level that Mr. Harper brought them to,"Trudeausaid ofMulcair'splan.

"We feel that a plan to make EI respond better to the needs of Canadians while still reducing premiums is what Canadians expect from their employment insurance program."

Liberals, Tories 'raided' EI fund, Mulcair says

During the event, the NDP leader accused his political rivals oftreatingthe EI fund as a "piggy bank" to be "raided" when extra cash is needed to balance federal budgets. The Liberals under former prime ministers JeanChrtien and Paul Martin used billion-dollar surpluses not only to balance the books, butto repay debt, cut taxes and fund unrelated programs.

Conservative candidate and finance minister Joe Oliver used a $2.7-billion surplus, generated after the EI fund dipped into deficit following the 2008 financial crisis,to balance the government's last budget.

Mulcair said his party would put an end to the practice,pledging thatan NDP governmentwould remove the EI fund from general revenues andcreate an independent board to act as stewards, preventing the government from dipping into it.

"Liberals and Conservatives raided the EI fund to the tune of $50 billion and we'll make sure that fund is protected," he said.

To cut, or not to cut?

Both the Conservativesand Liberals have promised to cut EI premiums from the current rate of $1.88 per $100 earned.

The Tories' plan would reduce the rate to $1.49 per $100 earned.

The cut is the centrepiece of Harper's commitment to create up to 1.3 million net new jobs by 2020.In conjunction with a number of tax initiatives, such as the home renovation tax credit, the reduction in EI premiums would help create jobs at a rate slightly faster than the past five years, Harpersaid.

Harper sets target for job creation

9 years ago

Duration 2:20

Conservative leader Stephen Harper says a re-elected Conservative government would set a goal of creating 1.3 million net new jobs by 2020.

"We've consulted experts on whether this is reasonable," Harper said.

"Obviously, when we're talking 1.3 million more jobs, look, I would say there's no reason why we can't have a similar record on that than we have now."

The jobs created since the recession are 90 per cent full-time, more than 80 per cent of them are in the private sector and are "by and large" in high-wage industries, Harper said.

"I see no reason why we could not replicate that number going forward," he said.

He alsorepeated his previouscriticism that measures the NDP and Liberals have promised, such as boosting the Canada Pension Plan and expanding EI benefits, would force businesses to cut jobs or shut down altogether.

The difference between the Grits and NDP, though, is that the Liberals have committed to increasingEI benefits whileslashing the premium to $1.65 per $100 earned.

After Trudeau made his initial EIannouncement earlier this month, the Tories attacked the plan as a payroll tax hike that would inevitably stifle the growth of small businesses. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which has consulted with the government on EI reform, echoed that criticism.

This morning, CFIB president Dan Kelly levied a similar attack onMulcair's proposed plan, saying it would mean atax hike on small businesses. It will also hurt young people looking for work, Kelly said.

Mulcair, however, insisted that maintaining the current premium does not amount to any kind of a tax hike.

"We will not be raising any of those payroll taxes. They will be staying exactly where they are," he said.

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