The Conservatives will unveil their employment insurance reforms this week, in a move that will prove to be a huge disappointment to the opposition parties.
The Liberals and NDP have been salivating at the prospect of EI changes that will force doctors to flip burgers and Maritime fishermen to go west, or risk losing their benefits.
The reality will be more modest and grounded in common sense. Regular EI recipients will be expected to commute up to an hour to take a job and will have to accept work that pays 70% of their average income.
But these are reasonable changes, designed to remove disincentives to work. At the moment, jobs that pay less or offer “less favourable” conditions can be turned down, without risk of losing benefits.
This is simply a tightening up of rules to ensure the system is not being abused. No-one likes being taken for a ride, but that is what is happening right now. The vast majority of EI contributors, who never receive benefits, are paying for the lifestyle of people who have no intention of finding work to bridge the gap between temporary or seasonal work.
Crab fishermen who make two trips to sea can earn enough insurable earnings to qualify for maximum EI benefits (55% of income) for the rest of the year. That is just not right.
The reforms will not cure a system that is bent out of shape, but it will more closely align work and rewards.
more
New EI rules more modest and sensible than earlier advertised | Full Comment | National Post
The Liberals and NDP have been salivating at the prospect of EI changes that will force doctors to flip burgers and Maritime fishermen to go west, or risk losing their benefits.
The reality will be more modest and grounded in common sense. Regular EI recipients will be expected to commute up to an hour to take a job and will have to accept work that pays 70% of their average income.
But these are reasonable changes, designed to remove disincentives to work. At the moment, jobs that pay less or offer “less favourable” conditions can be turned down, without risk of losing benefits.
This is simply a tightening up of rules to ensure the system is not being abused. No-one likes being taken for a ride, but that is what is happening right now. The vast majority of EI contributors, who never receive benefits, are paying for the lifestyle of people who have no intention of finding work to bridge the gap between temporary or seasonal work.
Crab fishermen who make two trips to sea can earn enough insurable earnings to qualify for maximum EI benefits (55% of income) for the rest of the year. That is just not right.
The reforms will not cure a system that is bent out of shape, but it will more closely align work and rewards.
more
New EI rules more modest and sensible than earlier advertised | Full Comment | National Post
