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Alberta and Saskatchewan are calling on Ottawa to explain why parts of their province are excluded from benefits to help workers hurt by low oil prices.
Under the federal government’s budget, Employment Insurance benefits will be temporarily extended by five to 20 weeks for a dozen regions devastated by the commodities slump, including most of Alberta, parts of Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
But other hard-hit areas did not make the list, such as Edmonton and its surroundings and Southern Saskatchewan, which includes oil-centric cities like Estevan.
“They have missed a big part of Saskatchewan’s oil patch,” Premier Brad Wall told reporters after Ottawa unveiled the budget. “The rest of our oil patch is in the southeast and southwest and it is excluded.”
To come up with a formula for extending benefits, the government identified regions across the country where the unemployment rate has soared over the past year as oil prices spiralled downward.
Ottawa’s budget documents stipulated that the jobless rate in the 12 areas increased by 2 percentage points or more for a sustained period between March, 2015 and February, 2016, compared with its lowest point between December, 2014 and February, 2015, without showing significant signs of recovery.
mo
Alberta, Saskatchewan baffled by omissions for extended EI benefits - The Globe and Mail
Alberta and Saskatchewan are calling on Ottawa to explain why parts of their province are excluded from benefits to help workers hurt by low oil prices.
Under the federal government’s budget, Employment Insurance benefits will be temporarily extended by five to 20 weeks for a dozen regions devastated by the commodities slump, including most of Alberta, parts of Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
But other hard-hit areas did not make the list, such as Edmonton and its surroundings and Southern Saskatchewan, which includes oil-centric cities like Estevan.
“They have missed a big part of Saskatchewan’s oil patch,” Premier Brad Wall told reporters after Ottawa unveiled the budget. “The rest of our oil patch is in the southeast and southwest and it is excluded.”
To come up with a formula for extending benefits, the government identified regions across the country where the unemployment rate has soared over the past year as oil prices spiralled downward.
Ottawa’s budget documents stipulated that the jobless rate in the 12 areas increased by 2 percentage points or more for a sustained period between March, 2015 and February, 2016, compared with its lowest point between December, 2014 and February, 2015, without showing significant signs of recovery.
mo
Alberta, Saskatchewan baffled by omissions for extended EI benefits - The Globe and Mail
