Trudeau unveils Liberal plan to reverse Harper’s EI changes

Cutting the time unemployed Canadians wait for benefits, flexible parental leave, eliminating the 910-hour eligibility ‘penalty’ are some of the changes Trudeau revealed Tuesday.

Thestar.com
Sept. 8, 2015
by Bruce Campion-Smith

Justin Trudeau is promising to overhaul employment insurance to reverse controversial Conservative changes and make it easier for some unemployed Canadians to collect benefits.

He also pledged to cut EI premiums though not as deeply as the Conservatives have already promised, leaving some $2 billion in the system which the Liberals will use to bankroll their changes.

The Liberal leader accused the Tories, who brought in changes in 2012 to make it tougher to collect and retain EI benefits, of being indifferent to the needs of the unemployed, especially seasonal workers.

“People who pay their benefits should be receiving those benefits when they fall on tough times,” he said.

Under the changes announced Tuesday by Trudeau:

Waiting time for employment insurance benefits would be reduced to one week from two weeks. This is estimated to cost $700 million a year. Trudeau also pledged to reduce the bureaucratic delays in processing claims.

The so-called 910-hour eligibility “penalty” would be eliminated. Newcomers to the labour market or those returning after an absence of two or more years must work a minimum 910 hours before they are eligible for EI. Yet the Liberals say this discriminates against parents returning to the work force, younger workers and new Canadians. The 910-hour threshold would be axed and the minimum would drop to regional labour market threshold. This would cost $550 million a year.

An additional $500 million more a year would go to labour market agreements with the provinces to support investments in skills training.

EI premiums in 2017 would be cut to $1.65 from $1.88 per $100 earned. But in the 2015 budget the Tories have promised an even sharper premium cut, down to an estimated $1.49 in 2017. The Liberals’ higher premiums are expected to preserve some $2 billion in premium revenue.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said in a tweet that payroll taxes are the most harmful form of taxation on job creation.

But Trudeau denied that not cutting the premium as deeply as the Tories was a tax hike and justified the move by saying the money would be used to fund the promised changes.

“We are reducing EI premiums for Canadians across this country at the same time we are strengthening the benefits that Canadians need to give them the help to make it through tough times,” the Liberal leader said.

Trudeau also vowed to reverse changes to EI that Harper’s government announced in 2012. Under those changes, unemployed Canadians were required to look for a job every day they received benefits, be able to show evidence of their job search and even travel to job opportunities further from home.

The government defended the changes at the time, saying they were required to ensure companies were not bringing in foreign workers at a time when unemployed Canadians were seeking work.

But Trudeau said they’ve done little to improve EI. “It’s hurt a lot of people.”

The Liberals chose to unveil their pledges in this Atlantic province, where natural resources and fisheries mean much of the work is seasonal.

“There is more that the federal government can do to help these workers and indeed all workers who find themselves temporarily unemployed,” Trudeau said.

The promised reform got a welcome reception from Liberal Premier Brian Gallant, who said support for seasonal workers was vital for New Brunswick’s economy.

“For us, this is a great announcement. It’s something that is fair. It’s something that is done responsibly,” he told reporters after the announcement.

“What we heard today is very positive and it shows that Justin Trudeau certainly wants to work with the provinces.”

Trudeau also repeated promises, made earlier in the campaign, to introduce flexible parental leave. Parents would have the option to receive benefits in smaller chunks over the first 18 months of their child’s life or take a longer leave - up to 18 months - at a lower benefit level.

The Liberals have also pledged changes to compassionate care benefits to provide six months of benefits to those caring for seriously ill family member rather than someone at risk of death as the rules now dictate.