The scrums: Senate transparency, EI quotas

Three highlights from this afternoon’s post-Question Period scrums:

1. NDP MP Charlie Angus on consequences for Senators who break the rules: I think that we need to have a fair standard. When we look at the EI standards that are being set up where it says if you misrepresent yourself on this claim, this will be considered fraud—you will be prosecuted—that’s how the government interprets it. There’s no laws built anywhere in the world that have no consequences, except apparently when it comes to the Senate.

2. NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice on Senate transparency: We don’t have a sense of how deep the corruption is in the Senate and the problem that we have is that the reviews that they are doing about some of their friends there are not public, are secret.

3. Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae on EI inspectors visiting claimants’ homes: We’ve never had a system in place in Canada before where without any reason for grounds of suspicion, without any reason to suspect any problem, people are knocking at your door and asking questions. And, you know, this is not something that we’ve encouraged in this country when it comes to employment insurance.