EI totally inadequate as jobless rate climbs

I probably risk sounding like a broken record on Employment Insurance reform, but it’s not just me saying it. This week, the House of Commons passed a motion introduced by NDP Member of Parliament Chris Charlton, calling on the government to reform EI.

The motion, which was debated on an NDP Opposition Day last week, calls for five reforms to EI:

• eliminate the two-week waiting period;
• reduce the qualifying period to a minimum of 360 hours of work, regardless of the regional rate of unemployment;
• allow self-employed workers to participate in the plan;
• raise the rate of benefits to 60% and base benefits on the best 12 weeks in the qualifying period; and
• encourage training and re-training.

The motion passed 152-141, with only the Conservative Party voting against the motion. Here’s Carol Goar’s take on the motion in today’s Toronto Star.

The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business also has a scathing report on EI today. It highlights the inadequacy of EI in responding to both unemployment and the recession.

In particular, it notes the complete inadequacy of basing benefits on historical, regional patterns of unemployment to respond to the mass unemployment of a recession. For instance, Ontario has been one of the hardest hit provinces, as the manufacturing industry has crumpled. However, because Ontario has a historically low level of unemployment, Ontarians get lower benefits than elsewhere in the province!

Similarly, oil field workers in Alberta who originate from Atlantic provinces can get higher benefits than their co-workers simply by returning home.

Restricting job training to those who receive EI benefits is also a problem, since only 40% of unemployed Canadians actually qualify for EI. (In Toronto, the number is closer to 20%). Carol Goar points out that because of the requirement to actively seek work while on EI, the program can actually force people to drop out of training that they themselves have paid for if they receive a job offer.

And all of this becomes more important, not less, as the numbers worsen. Today, the official statistics on job loss in February were released, revealing that unemployment in Canada has now climbed to 7.7%.

That figure doesn’t of course include layoffs that have already been announced but haven’t taken place yet. Things are going to get worse before they get better. Reforming EI is one small step the government could take to ease the impact of the recession on millions of Canadians.