With the release of the Fall Economic Statement on November 3rd, the National Council of Unemployed Workers (NCUW) is calling for the reform of Employment Insurance to be included in the document.
The government has repeatedly committed to EI reform, holding a year-long series of consultations with the population and civil society representatives that ended last July.
“There is an opportunity to act on EI,” said Pierre Céré, spokesperson for the NCUW. “The pandemic has highlighted the flaws of our social safety net, everyone recognized that. With Minister Freeland herself admitting that we are heading into a recession, there is no better time than now to reform Employment Insurance and improve the failing program, which has reverted to its outdated and inequitable rules since the temporary measures expired on September 25th.”
The National Council of Unemployed Workers is calling for the expansion of coverage to work sectors that are left out of the program or poorly protected and improved protections, including an increase in the benefit period.
“We should not wait for the next crisis to fix the social safety net. We are not in a situation to to that. The economy is fragile and we are witnessing the consequences of climate disruption,” continued Pierre Céré. “If there is a rise of right-wing opinion and of a discourse aiming at the destructuring of state policies, we must not try to spare it, but respond with even more vigor, more courage, more vision, never ceasing to explain what social contributions, taxes and state policies are for”.