Conservative government imposes stricter rules on recipients of unemployment benefits

The Conservative government has been cutting away at government services and the social safety under the universal mantra of cutting deficits. Of course the Stephen Harper government would not think of raising taxes on corporations or the rich as a way of cutting the deficit but the unemployed are fair game.

The new rules will make it particularly difficult for frequent users of EI (Employment Insurance). The announcement of the changes were made yesterday by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley.

The new rules require that EI recipients must accept job openings that are an hour or even further away the distance being based upon regional commuter patterns. Toronto was given as an example where even longer commutes could be expected.

Language in the existing bill that set out conditions under which recipients could refuse a job as not suitable has been removed and new stricter rules put in their place. In the new regulations there are three tiers of EI recipients. The longer that recipients are on EI the broader their job searches must be and the lower the salaries they must accept.

The third category of recipients are termed frequent users who have collected 60 or more weeks benefits in the last five years. At present 58 per cent of recipients fall within this group. Frequent recipients will only have six weeks to find a job in a "similar occupation" at at least 80 percent of pay. After that the applicant must accept any job the applicant is qualified to perform (or can be trained for) at 70 per cent of former earnings or more. So recipients must accept up to a 30 per cent pay cut or lose benefits. The new regulations will particularly hurt Canada's maritime provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador where many communities have workers involved in seasonal activities such as fishing. During the off season these workers have depended upon EI to support them until the following season. Most rural coastal communities face the same situation so it would be difficult to find work nearby. The provinces most hurt are quite angry since they were not consulted about changes. For more see this article.

 While the job statistics in the U.S. looked somewhat brighter in December the situation was somewhat gloomier in Canada. Nevertheless the unemployment percentage is still considerably less here than in the U.S. even though there was a slight increase to 7.5 per cent here.
   While 18,000 new jobs were created in Canada overall there was a loss of 26,000 full time jobs in December. More Canadians were looking for work and this caused the unemployment rate to edge up by .1 per cent.
   In 2011 the Canadian economy has added 199,000 job but almost all of this growth was in the first half of the year. Most job growth has been in part time jobs rather than full time positions. Quebec has been worst effected by slow job growth losing 25,700 jobs during the year. Alberta is the province with the lowest unemployment rate at 4.9 per cent. Alberta is rich in oil and natural gas deposits. For more see this article.

Canada: Unemployment rate rises in November

   In contrast to the U.S. the unemployment rate in Canada climbed last month to 7.4 per cent but it is still considerably better than in the U.S. Canada lost a total of 18,600 jobs last month. Last month the unemployment rate was 7.3 per cent.
   The news was not all bad in that there was an increase of 34,600 full time jobs. This was more than offset by a decline of 53,300 part time jobs.
   The unemployment situation varies by province. Newfoundland and Labrador had a rate of 13.2 per cent up from 12.9 the month before. In the three prairie provinces unemployment is lower than the national average at between five and six percent although Saskatchewan lost some jobs last month and unemployment went from a low 4.1 to 5.1. This is still a rate many provinces can envy. For more see this CBC article.
 

Canadian jobless numbers continue to rise..

These figures no doubt underestimate the jobless problem since many without jobs will not qualify for EI. However, the two main political parties are content to set up a panel to study the issue!
While profits may be inching up in some cases this is often due to cost containment rather than increased sales. Those on unemployment or having to spend all their money on their debts are not able to stimulate the economy through increased purchases. This is from the Globe and Mail.
Meanwhile the Conservatives are becoming more confident and expect the Liberals to again pass on forcing an election. As usual the deficit is being used to cut social services such as health care in B.C. Liberal and Conservative governments alike will take advantage of the deficit as an excuse for cutting social entitlements. Military entitlements are not included in this calculus.


The number of Canadians collecting jobless benefits is climbing sharply, hitting record levels certain to stoke mounting controversy over the program.

In May, Statistics Canada said Tuesday 778,700 people received regular benefits under the Employment Insurance program, up by 65,600 or 9.2 per cent from April.

It was the highest number since the federal agency began collecting such statistics in 1997.

The number of EI beneficiaries has jumped almost 56 per cent, or by more than 278,000, since employment in Canada peaked last October.

Alberta and Ontario showed the fastest rates of increase in May, Statistics Canada said.

The sharp rise surpassed the increase of 3.7 per cent in April.

The statistics are certain to raise the ire of those pushing for change to the employment insurance system, to make benefits more accessible to those thrown out of work during the recession. Critics say many more Canadians have been shut out from benefits.

Last spring, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff threatened to vote against the government if it failed to meet demands for an overhaul. In the end, the Liberals and Conservatives agreed to set up a panel that would study the issue.

Tuesday's numbers continue to show growing problems in Western Canada. Alberta, once Canada's boom province, marked the largest percentage growth in beneficiaries over the seven months since employment peaked. Following Alberta were British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, each marking record levels.

In May alone, the number of claimants in Alberta, where the jobless rate has spiked to 6.6 per cent from 3.7 per cent seven months ago, surged 16.8 per cent. That was almost matched by Ontario, where the number of beneficiaries soared 16 per cent.

Quebec, Manitoba and the eastern provinces have, over the past seven month, posted increases below the national average of 55.6 per cent.

Statistics Canada cited hefty increases in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and southwestern Ontario, home to the battered auto industry. Some centres – such as Kelowna and Cranbrook, B.C., and Windsor and Guelph, Ont., have seen their numbers more than triple.