EI Reform NOW!
Time for anothert rant I guess. Maybe I should team up with Rik Mercer. So in my region of Canada you need to have 595 hours to qualify for EI. Can you imagine the frustration to find out that you've missed qualifying by a scant 84 hours?? What about the people who miss out by 40 hours? Or miss by inches like 591 hours?? How is this fair?? People who have had their hours reduced because of cutbacks or those who have been working 2 to 3 part-time jobs and who lose one or more because of the current economic situation have no recourse and the government is failing to recognize this because they don't have a full-time job. They still pay into the system. The system has a current surplus of 56.95 million dollars likely amassed during the boom. Those who advocate for reform of the system say it is broken and the lives of those who miss qualifying by such tiny margins are also broken. The current lobby for reform platform stands on the principle that EI qualifying should be a uniform 360 hours across the country. Well obviously I agree.
This should be first and foremost in the governments much advertised and touted "Action Plan".
They need to get their priorities straight! For more check out this article: http://http://www.rabble.ca/news/2009/07/urgent-ei-fix-needed-now