The National Council of Unemployed Workers (NCUW) wishes to react to the Speech from the Throne, remind the government of its commitments and express the need for Employment Insurance (EI) reform, a subject that was not addressed in the Speech.
“We would have liked a signal towards reforming EI,” said Pierre Céré, spokesperson for the NCUW. “EI reform is a major issue, but we have yet to hear about it. A reform must be implemented to modernize the program and make it fairer and more accessible. We hope to see this reform take shape as soon as possible and be confirmed in the Minister’s mandate letter.”
“To respond to the gaps of the social safety net highlighted by the crisis, the federal government has put in place significant income support programs and a more flexible EI system. However, these measures remain temporary, and some are already behind us, leaving self-employed workers without any social safety net. This is not the time to turn the page: the time is now for EI reform, to expand coverage and improve protection,” added Pierre Céré.
The National Council of Unemployed Workers is launching the campaign “The Time is Now“, with ads in multiple newspapers and online to ask the government for the much-needed reform of EI, in order to modernize the program and make it fairer and more accessible.
An EI Reform must address those two issues:
The expansion of coverage, to sectors of society which are currently excluded from EI, primarily self-employed workers, but also those who are poorly protected: part-time and seasonal workers, and Indigenous communities. Extending coverage also means easing the overly severe penalties and sanctions for dismissal or resignation. Before the temporary crisis measures, one in four applicants, who had worked and contributed to EI was excluded because of these policies.
Improving protections: raising the rate and extending the period of benefits, modifying the calculation method, and seeking to simplify the application of this program by introducing simpler universal rules, because this program has become unnecessarily complex.
“The Speech from the Throne addressed the need to respond to the climate crisis. Haven’t we learned anything from the COVID crisis and the importance of fixing the social safety net? Will it be necessary to improvise programs every time?” concluded the spokesperson.