Senator Ringuette: Honourable senators, I cannot support this bill. I cannot endorse that we would knowingly remove $76.6 million from the working poor of P.E.I. This is no longer an issue of fairness, as stated many times. This bill effectively is unfair to the working poor of P.E.I.

Honourable senators, the EI system aims to be fair and equitable but, as any other system, it is not perfect. For example, would Senator Black find it fair and equitable that migrant farm workers and their employers contribute to EI via their payroll when these migrant workers cannot benefit from it? Would Senator Manning find it fair to merge a fisher’s EI qualifier and benefits, knowing that they do not decide their fishing season? All the members of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry questioned how to solve this situation given the new facts in front of us.

I also have to say that my office has researched if any P.E.I. members of Parliament put forth such a bill or motion in the other place from 2015 to 2021, and there was nothing.

Senators should consider if the Senate is being used to do something that has not been done in the other place for so many years. Honourable senators, we have many options that we can consider now in dealing with this bill. We can vote it down now, at third reading, and if that is the case, I may ask for a standing vote to know who supports removing benefits from the working poor. We can ask the committee to review the bill considering new information from the PBO report specifically. We cannot take more time and add to the stress P.E.I.’s working poor already face.

Is it the Senate’s job, via a private member’s bill, to reduce by $76.6 million the benefits of the working poor of Prince Edward Island? My answer is no.