Employment insurance News

Ottawa - Thousands protested in the province of Quebec, in the Canadian capital Ottawa, and also in the Province of New Brunswick against the changes made by the Conservative government to Canada's Employment Insurance (EI) program.

Ottawa - The Canadian federal government's Human Resources Minister announced new Employment Insurance (EI) measures Thursday at a press conference in Ottawa. The overhaul will establish three criteria for job hunters.

Ottawa - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told a phalanx of reporters Monday that this country needs workers and there is no such thing as a bad job. This comes as the Conservatives are attempting to reform Employment Insurance.

Toronto - I recently spoke with former York University researcher Lee Berkowitz on the ways in which Canada's current system of distributing employment insurance marginalizes and excludes more than we may realize. The following is my Q & A with Lee.

Toronto - A recent report released by the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation is calling for massive reforms in the government assistance program for unemployed workers.

Toronto - The Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, a Toronto-based think tank, has released a study blasting Canada's Employment Insurance system as a "hangover for handling interregional problems," and in dire need of reform.

Self-employed workers can now register for the Employment Insurance plan in order to qualify for parental, maternity, sickness and compassionate care benefits.

Statistics Canada reports in June, 816,600 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. This is up 5.1% (+39,500) from previous month.

A study comparing unemployment benefits among countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that Canada offers some of the worst support out of the 30 nations that make up the OECD's membership.

Jack Layton, leader of the federal NDP party, attended a June 13th rally to lend his support to calls from labour for Employment Insurance reform. It was estimated that over 2,000 people attended the Toronto event.