How Two Liberal MPs spent their
Summer Vacation
EI Working Group Timeline
June 17, 2009
• Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition
announce “Blue Ribbon” panel to study EI:
▫ Regional Fairness
▫ Self Employed
• Liberals members announced: Marlene
Jennings, Mike Savage and Kevin Chan
• Minister Finley announced by Prime Minister
June 28, 2009
• Prime Minister announces rest of Conservative
appointees: Pierre Poilievre and Malcolm Brown
• First Teleconference held
• Minister Finley indicates that she will be on
vacation first two weeks of July
• First meeting scheduled for July 7th (technical
briefing), changed to July 14th to accommodate
Pierre Poilievre’s schedule
July 14, 2009
• Technical Briefing with officials. Liberals ask
and then submit questions to the Secretariat:
1) Costing for national qualifying standard based
on 360 hours, 390 hours and 420 hours
2) Revolving rate of unemployment
3) Extension of weeks benefits (US Example)
4) Info on self employed, e.g., Quebec Model
July 23, 2009
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First full meeting of the EI Working Group
Table drop of documents
Liberals to present on “regional fairness”
Conservatives were expected to present on “Self Employed”
Full discussion on 360 hour Liberal proposal
EIWG agreed that HRSDC officials be directed to cost 4 variations of
Liberal proposal, and to cost other options (e.g., Western Premier’s
proposal)
• No proposal from Conservatives on “Self Employed” - some
discussion
• Meeting schedule set for August
• EIWG agree to “protocols” (e.g., all documents to distributed in
advance)
August 6th, 2009
• Table drop of documents
• Conservatives provide 360 hour “costing”:
▫ Number are skewed and inflated
▫ Conservative costing doubles number of beneficiaries
▫ Doubles (again) to a total of $4 billion (estimated
potential labour market impact)
• No answers to Liberal questions presented weeks
prior
• Conservatives leak to media their own document
titled “Not for Distribution”
• Liberal response aggressive and immediate
• Document was leaked and embargoed prior to the
meeting starting
August 13, 2009
• Table drop of documents
• Conservatives produce new costing for 360
hours based on original Liberal plan
• Refuse to separate hard cost from “estimated
potential labour market impact”
• No answers on costing of 390 or 420 hours, as
requested weeks prior
• Discussion on other issues: Western Premiers
proposal and reduced regional rates
• Discussion on “self employed” (Maternity leave)
August 20, 2009
• Table drop of documents – Liberals suspend meeting to
review documents
• Liberals call for PBO costing of our Liberal 36o hours
proposal
• Points of discussion circulated at meeting:
▫ Extension of benefits
▫ Addressing regional fairness
▫ Variable Entrance Requirement responsiveness
▫ Self employed
• Minister admits over-riding EIWG decision and order officials
not to cost regional fairness proposals.
The Bottom Line
• Ten weeks and still no serious or concrete proposals
from Conservatives
• Minister Finley has repeatedly bypassed the EIWG
protocol by refusing to provide costing
• Liberals have offered to meet more often and for
longer durations but the Conservatives have refused
• EIWG is a model for Harper Conservatives’
approach to minority parliament: politics before
people.