THUNDER BAY -- The city’s New Democratic Party MP is worried changes to Canada’s Employment Insurance will do more harm than good.
The Conservative government has introduced new EI reforms that take effect Jan. 6. The changes were announced in May, but more details were revealed in December with the promise that it would help connect Canadians to available jobs.
That part has MP John Rafferty (NDP, Thunder Bay – Rainy River) nervous for some workers in his riding.
He said an available job could mean someone from Atikokan could be forced to drive an hour or more to get to work if it pays between 70 to 90 per cent of their previous income. Although that may be fine in the Toronto area, Rafferty argues that driving that much while only making minimum wage isn’t financially feasible for some in Northern Ontario.
“The government is sort of making this up as they go along,” he said. “They started off as saying ‘if you find a job it doesn’t matter if it is 30 per cent less than what you were making before.’ If they aren’t positive changes then it is not going to be good for workers and ultimately not good for families.”
The reform also makes changes to the definitions of “reasonable job search” and “suitable employment.”
Under these new definitions, the government will look at several key factors in determining suitable work.
Those factors include:
- Type of work
- Wages
- Commute time
- Working conditions
- Hours of work
- Personal circumstances such as health
These changes are meant to clear up any misunderstandings for EI recipients on potential job opportunities, which the government says they have a responsibility to accept if it meets these criteria.
Rafferty said the one thing he would have liked to have seen before any of these changes came into being was seeing the government consult with employers and employees.
“Employment Insurance money is not the government’s money,” he said. “It belongs to employers and employees. They’re the ones that put into this fund.”
But there will be other changes to EI as well.
Anyone who has taken EI more than once will have to take any job that they are offered. The ones expected to be most impacted by this change are seasonal workers who go on and off EI during the year.
Rafferty said that kind of change isn’t helping families.
He added he would have liked to have seen some training opportunities available for people who lost their jobs and EI funding in place to relocate those who find jobs that requires them to move.
