So, what's wrong with
the EI Program?

There's something wrong with an unemployment insurance program that every working Canadian pays for, every single paycheque they earn, when:

• only 35% of people who are unemployed are getting EI benefits at any given moment, compared to over 75% just a few years ago. Many workers don't qualify for any benefits at all. Still others find themselves with a very short claim period.

• the EI Account has built a premium surplus of close to $50-billion since 1994. We're shortchanging workers by shortchanging their EI entitlements

• women are at a serious disadvantage because they are the ones more likely to take one of those new part-time jobs. They end up short of hours to qualify for EI when they're laid off. And too many new moms don't have the 600 hours to qualify for pregnancy and parental benefits.

• the simple task of calculating our benefit rate takes a rocket scientist. The government's own staff often have a hard time calculating average earnings, local unemployment rates, weeks not worked, etc. It's overly complex and just doesn't make sense.

• long years in the work force count for nothing when it comes to qualifying for EI

• leave from work for training or learning – something that is becoming key to staying both employed and employable in the modern economy – isn't covered by EI benefits

Insurance is supposed to be there when we need it.
That's why it's called insurance. There's something wrong with an insurance program when most of the workers who pay for benefits and who pay for coverage are left with nothing in times of need. The fact that it is SOCIAL insurance should give us even more flexibility.

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