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September 24, 2014 · 0 Comments

Dear editor:
Over the summer Canadians at community events across the country gave Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau a clear message: they are not feeling any relief from the feeble economic recovery.
Under Prime Minister Harper, Canada has had the worst economic growth of any Prime Minister since R.B. Bennett. In the past year, only a meagre 81,000 jobs have been created and more than 80 per cent were part-time – with poorer job quality, lower wages and less security.
In light of this, the Conservatives’ recently announced an Employment Insurance (EI) credit for small businesses. However, this credit will not encourage the hiring of new workers or produce the growth struggling middle class Canadians need. In fact, only businesses with EI taxes below $15,000 will see any savings – creating an incentive for businesses to fire workers. The plan only encourages businesses to stay small and punishes them if they grow and are successful.
There’s still time for the government to choose a better way. For instance, Liberals are proposing an EI premium exemption for every newly-hired worker, which for $225 million could produce over 176,000 new jobs.
Canadians deserve a plan for jobs and growth. The Conservatives’ EI plan provides neither.
As Parliament returns, Canadians expect their political leaders to address issues like these head-on. Mr. Trudeau and his caucus have listened, and are focused on helping the middle class prosper and creating a plan that will deliver real economic growth. That means fixing EI—and increasing investment in infrastructure and education, and expanding trade.
We need to get more Canadians hired and create new jobs— this is the only way that we can grow the middle class and expand opportunities for Canadian families.
Dominic LeBlanc, MP
Liberal Party of Canada House Leader