Politics

The QP Clip: Mulcair on employment insurance

 

On his final supplementary of Question Period, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair insisted the Conservatives were sending bureaucrats to the homes of unemployed Canadians. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley calmly replied to the accusation.

MulcairThe minister is sending investigators into the homes of randomly selected seasonal workers in Atlantic Canada. They cannot send them to inspect senators of course because we do not know where they actually live. We know what the Prime Minister thinks about workers in Atlantic Canada. He calls them losers, and says that they have a “culture of defeat”. Does that explain the reaction and the attitude of the minister? Does she think that they are a bunch of losers as well?

FinleyMr. Speaker, that is absolutely a load of nonsense. We are supporting Canadians in their efforts to get back to work. That is why we have expanded the job alerts program and we have expanded the job banks, so Canadians get the information about the jobs that are available for them. EI is there as a temporary income support to help Canadians while they are transitioning to another job. However, if the jobs are not available, then EI will be there for Canadians as it always has been.

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