Workers are already seeing the impact of chaotic trade threats being issued from the US. A strong social safety net with a robust employment insurance (EI) system is critical to support workers in these tough times. With a federal election looming, workers need to know which candidates and which parties will institute concrete measures to support them.
Canada’s EI system is widely acknowledged to have major problems. Many workers fail to qualify for EI and the low wage replacement rate leaves many workers living in poverty. We need improvements to EI so all workers are protected in case of layoff in these times of economic instability.
Improvements to the EI Work Sharing Program announced last week are helpful but will not support many workers affected by tariffs. This program allows for a reduced work week when an employer experiences an unusual slowdown. Work is redistributed equally among workers and wages are topped up with EI Work Sharing Program benefits. This is a good first step but workers in Canada need more.
In a letter, the interprovincial working group on EI, a coalition of trade unions and community organizations, called on the federal government to improve EI by:
Instituting a universal 420-hour requirement to be eligible for EI regular (unemployment) and special benefits (maternity, parental, sick leave, compassionate care etc.)
Putting in place a 300-hour credit to ensure those in precarious employment can qualify;
Having a minimum weekly benefit rate of at least $600 to help protect lower-waged workers and help the economy;
Increasing the Maximum Insurable Earnings and the 55% benefit rate so moderate and higher income workers have a liveable benefit;
Ensure migrants contributing EI premiums have full access to EI.
These measures are needed in all sectors and for all workers in Canada. Economists predict that US tariffs on Canadian goods will result in a recession. Targeted measures for trade-exposed sectors would leave workers in many sectors behind, particularly those from equity-deserving communities in precarious work.
The federal government must increase funding for training programs under Employment Insurance (EI Part II). This money is shared among the provinces and used to support provincially administered training and re-training programs for EI eligible workers. The government must also consider further temporary emergency increases to retrain workers displaced by the economic disruption.