Changes to EI rules once again asked for in the Northwest

While the promise of a bounty of jobs is touted by politicians and business types as being just on the horizon, the immediate need of many Prince Rupert and area residents is for a more equitable EI system.

As it stands at the moment, the EI rules that workers must follow are based on the more job laden Northeast, while the employment situation in the struggling Northwest is far less rosy. The two areas that have been lumped into one area, with one set of EI qualifying rules, which for the most part are not working very well for families in the Northwest.

The Daily News examined the continuing attempts to have Employment Insurance qualifying rules brought more into the day to day reality of the job situation on the North coast. Most of those efforts have been through a letter writing lobbying campaign by various provincial officials and face to face contact with the federal minister of Employment, Monte Solberg.

It’s been a process that hasn’t had much success over the course of the last year, leaving many residents of the Northwest with only seasonal employment and reduced or no EI benefits to show for their labour.

While the northwest waits for this boom that we are told is on the way, many are just looking for a little fairness from Ottawa until that new wave comes in.

There may be a bit of a wait however before there is any change in the program, Human Resources and Social Development Canada say that a review is held every five years on the EI boundaries, though at the moment they don’t say if the Northwest is at the beginning, middle or end of that evolutionary cycle.


Politicians calling for changes to 'unfair' EI rules
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, January 07, 2008
Pages one and three

Both the provincial government and Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District are supporting local efforts to bring some "fairness" back to the Employment Insurance Regulations in the Northwest.

In December, Claude Richmond, the provincial Minister of Employment and Income Assistance wrote his federal counterpart Monte Solberg asking for a revision of the Employment Insurance Boundaries.

"As you may be aware, areas with relatively large populations and low unemployment are impacting EI (Employment Insurance) calculations for smaller centres," wrote Richmond.
"The calculations impact the minimum number of hours required to receive EI as well as the number of weeks payable. There is a particular concern in Prince Rupert and the North Coast where many clients are participating in seasonal employment and are not able to meet the minimum hours required to qualify for EI.”

The city embarked upon a letter-writing campaign to convince Solberg to review the Northern boundaries for EI in the summer of 2007.

The current EI boundaries include such booming regions as Prince George where unemployment is lower because of the high harvest rate of pine beetle wood, and the Northeast, where oil and gas is driving a booming economy.

The city was advised to being a letter-writing campaign by the Commissioner for Workers of Employment Insurance, Trish Blackstaffe, who said that other areas of the country have been designated as separate regions after the lobbying efforts of about 500 letter-writers.

Also joining the letter-writing campaign is the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District.
Last fall, chair Barry Pages wrote Solberg, noting the existing problems with the EI regions.
“Although matters are starting to improve economically in the Northwest, particularly the North Coast, has not enjoyed the economic success as that experienced in the Northeast,” said Pages.

“It is our understanding that transitional measures could be adopted that would take into consideration the higher unemployment present here and would lower the hours required for benefit eligibility,” said Pages.

The city has received a letter in return from Human Resources and Social Development Canada, noting that a review is made of the EI boundaries every five years to determine if changes need to be made and all the comments are being considered in the current review.