Liberal Plan to Help Laid-Off Workers Transition to 21st Century Jobs Would Not Help Several Million Workers

Published October 11, 2019 Analysis

“I doubt many people would get this benefit”

Over Two-Thirds of Unemployed Low-Wage Workers Are Not Receiving Employment Insurance: New Report

Published July 9, 2019 News

Low-wage workers are the least likely to receive support even though they are paying higher EI premiums

Fewest people in 6 years collecting EI even though unemployment’s higher: new stats

Published September 18, 2014

It’s good to put money in the piggy bank for rainy days. But what if it starts to rain and you can’t get your money out? New data from Statistics Canada shows that the number of unemployed Canadians who are actually receiving Employment Insurance has fallen to below 500,000 people for the first time since July 2008 — before the […]

Harper government’s new jobs plan gives “firms an incentive to fire workers”

Published September 15, 2014

The Harper government’s new signature proposal timed for the return of Parliament on Monday “makes it weirdly profitable to fire people,” according to an independent analysis by an economist. Mike Moffatt of the Ivey School of Business at Western University analysed the proposed Small Business Job Credit aimed at companies that pay Employment Insurance premiums […]

Conservative minister says sorry for anecdote about drug-dealing EI recipients who need to get a real job

Published August 26, 2014

Denis Lebel’s tour of his home province of Quebec to drum up support for the Conservative government has hit a little snag. Stephen Harper’s Quebec lieutenant was in the middle of an interview with Radio-Canada over the weekend when he started talking about unemployed people who collect Employment Insurance. He was explaining that a farmer […]

Unemployed? Good luck getting EI as eligibility hits all-time low

Published August 25, 2014

Just 36.6% of unemployed workers are receiving Employment Insurance — an all-time low in Canada, according to the latest government statistics. The new milestone, calculated by comparing the number of regular EI beneficiaries in the latest Statistics Canada report with the number of unemployed workers from the Labour Force Survey, follows a series of policy […]