BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA — Globe and Mail Update Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 08:43PM EDT
Stephen Harper has announced a spending promise worth $147-million that would allow self-employed Canadians the opportunity to access maternity and parental benefits enjoyed by other wage earners who pay into the EI system.
“Ironically, self-employed Canadians who are successful and who create jobs must pay into the EI system on behalf on their employees, but cannot access those benefits themselves,” Mr. Harper said. “This is not right.”
Currently, self-employed Canadians cannot contribute to the Employment Insurance scheme and, thus, are not eligible to receive maternity benefits that other employees who do pay into the fund enjoy. Those Canadians eligible for maternity benefits and want to remove themselves from the work force to stay home with their newborns can receive a year's worth of benefits at around 60 per cent of their salary.
There are currently 2.6. million Canadians who work for themselves in the country.
The program would be funded by premium payments. It is another in a series of tangible announcements that the Conservative began making during the last election. They include notions like help for apprentices, GST cuts and other pledges.
Asked if announcement was an effort to attract female voters, the Conservative Leader said it was a policy to respond to a real need.
Earlier in the morning, Mr. Harper appeared in a photo opportunity alongside the owner of an Ottawa salon and spa.
“We've had lots of round tables with business people over the past year to identify things we can do to help business, particularly small business, particularly entrepreneurs and this is one that has come up frequently,” he said.
He noted that both he and his wife, Laureen, ran businesses and were aware of the difficulties. Before returning to politics, Mr. Harper headed up the National Citizens Coalition while his wife ran a desktop publishing business.
The Conservative campaign will move to southern Ontario Monday afternoon as Mr. Harper makes a hard play for Liberal-held ridings. The move comes as the Conservatives and the NDP face accusations that they're working together to squeeze the Liberals out of the centre of the political spectrum.
Mr. Harper did compare the NDP efforts favourably yesterday to the Green Shift plan of Stéphane Dion.
“They are trying to target on the needs of real people as opposed to theoretical schemes,” he said.
He added, however, that the NDP, spending promises are substantial compared with those of his own government.
“Where there's a difference, is that obviously, we're a government – a fiscally conservative government that knows we have to operate within a budget. We're making modest but affordable promises that we know we can deliver. I'm not sure the NDP is making sure any of this particularly adds up. Some of their promises are very, very big.”
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