The National Council of Unemployed Workers (NCUW) welcomes the announcement of the extension of the income support measures by the federal government.
The federal government announced this morning an extansion of weeks payable for the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), as well as for regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.
“This is a good thing, it was necessary, given that the health and economic crisis is still far from over. This is an adequate and responsible response to the crisis,” said Pierre Céré, spokesperson for the NCUW. “We must now act more broadly to renew the Employment Insurance program: a permanent reform is possible and necessary, for a system that is fairer, more accessible and better suited to new realities,” continued Pierre Céré.
This week, the NCUW launched a series of advertisements online and in major French-language and English-language newspapers and calling on the federal government to put in place a permanent reform of Employment Insurance. More than 250 organizations, unions, municipalities, Parliamentarians, and civil society leaders support Resolution EI-21, a NCUW initiative: “That the federal government use the current temporary measures as a starting point to put in place a permanent reform of Employment Insurance, ensuring fair, universal access for workers and measures suited to the new realities of labour.”
“Once this is over, one thing is certain, it is unthinkable to return to EI as it was before March 2020. Supporting workers through the crisis is the right thing to do. Building a social safety net even stronger is the next step,” concluded Pierre Céré.