CBC: Unions take EI surplus fight to Supreme Court

[tuvor]

Labour unions appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday to argue the federal government has been improperly spending billions of surplus dollars in the unemployment insurance fund.

The court reserved judgment Tuesday afternoon and didn't set a date for a ruling.

Brought by the Quebec-based labour union Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the unions' argument is that the Employment Act fund shouldn't go into general revenue and pay for things such as debt reduction. Doing so turns it into an indirect tax and is unconstitutional, they argue.

"The reality is the government owes $55 billion to the insurance system and they need to pay it back," Barbara Byers, vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress, told CBC News before the hearing began.

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http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/13/scoc-employment-insurance.html