Anger Over Unemployment Insurance Grows

    Harper and Parliament Must Immediately Make 360 Hours the Qualifying
    Threshold for EI Benefits in All Regions to Ensure More of the Unemployed
    Get Benefits

    TORONTO, March 16 /CNW/ - On Monday, hundreds of laid-off workers
demonstrated outside of an Employment Insurance (EI) office in Scarborough at
a rally organised by the Good Jobs for All Coalition - an alliance of more
than 35 community, labour and student groups representing people throughout
the Greater Toronto Area. The demonstration followed Friday's release of new
data by Statistics Canada that confirm unemployment in Ontario is now the
highest it has been in 12 years.
    "Theatrics by Jim Flaherty don't change the fact that the Harper
government's budget fails the majority of Canadians who have lost their jobs
through no fault of their own," said Wayne Fraser, Director - Ontario and
Atlantic Canada, United Steelworkers. "Extending the benefits period for the
few who already qualify is insufficient. Since the government isn't doing it,
this minority Parliament must make more people eligible by setting the
qualifying hours at 360 and restore benefits to at least 60 per cent of the
best 12 weeks of earnings."
    In February alone, at least 35,000 more jobs were lost in Ontario,
pushing the unemployment rate up to 8.7 per cent. Since October 2008, nearly
300,000 jobs have been lost across Canada, the majority of which were
full-time; 1.4 million people are now unemployed and most of them do not
qualify for EI.
    "Tens of thousands of people who are out of work can't get unemployment
insurance benefits because the current government and this minority Parliament
aren't making EI a priority," said Effie Vlachoyannacos, Coordinator of the
Scarborough Civic Action Network. "When MPs get back to Ottawa next week, the
people of Scarborough want them to make fixing EI the first order of
business."
    "Working people are facing this unprecedented economic crisis with only
token support from their elected officials. We need the Federal Government to
stop sitting on their hands and take action to fix EI and help laid off
workers when they need it most," said Peggy Nash, Assistant to Canadian Auto
Workers union (CAW) President Ken Lewenza. "Improvements to EI will get much
needed money flowing back into hard-hit communities faster than any other type
of stimulus spending."

    QUICK FACTS:

    -   According to the latest data that is available from Statistics
        Canada, the unemployment rate for the GTA is 9 per cent, up from
        8.5 per cent.

    -   Twelve out of Canada's largest 28 cities are now coping with high
        unemployment in excess of 7 per cent. Eight of these twelve cities,
        including Toronto, are in Ontario.

    -   In January, community members and labour representatives sent a
        pre-budget message to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty about the urgent
        need to repair the EI program. The Harper government ignored the call
        for reasonable improvements to the program despite prominent
        economists' endorsement of the Good Jobs For All Coalition's primary
        recommendations.

    -   A healthy unemployment insurance system is the most powerful economic
        stabiliser. In the recessions of the early 1980s and 90s, UI
        prevented deeper, longer downturns and reduced the shock of job and
        GDP losses.

    -   There is now a much weaker UI system under the current rules of the
        Employment Insurance program. EI provides only half the coverage that
        UI provided during the last recession because fewer workers qualify
        and benefits have been reduced.

    -   Since 1989, the federal government has not contributed to the EI
        account. Successive government have borrowed more than $54 billion
        from the so-called "surplus" of EI premiums paid by workers and
        employers. It is now time for unemployed workers to be repaid with
        federal government contributions to EI.

    -   Recent job losses in the GTA include: Progressive Moulded Products in
        Vaughan (more than 2,400 jobs lost), Canac Kitchens in Thornhill
        (1,000 jobs lost), Magna International in Newmarket and Aurora (850
        jobs lost), Fenwick Automotive in Toronto (800 jobs lost), Emcon
        Technologies in Concord (150 jobs lost), Dayco in North York (120
        jobs lost), Telespectrum call centre in Don Mills (100 jobs lost),
        Kik Industries in Vaughan (70 jobs lost), National Rubber Industries
        in Davenport (50 jobs lost), Valspar in Scarborough (35 jobs lost).

    -   In November 2008, the Good Jobs For All Coalition's Good Jobs For All
        For A Greater Toronto Summit was attended by a diverse group of more
        than 1,000 workers, students, environmentalists, social justice
        advocates, youth, city councillors, MPPs, MPs and community members
        from the GTA. The campaign to fix EI is an effort of this important
        community-labour alliance.

For further information: Ken Marciniec, Communications Coordinator, Good
Jobs for All Coalition, (416) 803-6066 (cell),
communications@goodjobscoalition.ca; or Judy Vashti Persad, Coordinator, Good
Jobs Coalition, (416) 895-0754 (cell)