Speaking notes
for
the Honourable Diane Finley,
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development,
to announce the
Working While on Claim pilot project
Ottawa, Ontario
August 2, 2012
Good morning.
After travelling to various parts of the country this summer, I am pleased to be here today to provide a further update on our improvements to the Employment Insurance program.
Last year, nearly 250 000 jobs went unfilled.
As I have stated many times this year, we believe the EI program must encourage and help unemployed Canadians to fill those available jobs as effectively as possible.
At its core, the EI program is an insurance program intended to provide temporary financial assistance to unemployed Canadians—who have lost employment through no fault of their own—while they actively look for work or upgrade their skills.
It’s not meant to replace wages for people who choose not to work.
And it’s certainly not intended to discourage people from trying to get back into the job market.
Under the current regulations, EI recipients who find part-time or occasional work have their benefits reduced dollar-for-dollar once they have earned the equivalent of 40 percent of their benefits.
Financially, this leaves them not much better off than they were before.
Under those conditions, it’s understandable that some claimants are reluctant to take part-time or occasional work when it’s available.
In Economic Action Plan 2012, we set out to change that; I am pleased to announce today that the new, national Working While on Claim pilot project comes into effect on August 5, 2012—just days from now.
Our government believes it should always pay to work. This new initiative, which has been applauded across the country by employees and employers alike, will achieve just that. It will allow claimants to keep more of what they earn, ensuring they always benefit by accepting available work.
Let me explain how a hypothetical EI claimant could benefit under this new Working While on Claim pilot project.
Consider William, a retail salesperson, who has been recently laid off and is receiving EI benefits of $330 per week—55 percent of his previous wages.
William has found part-time work in a store that pays him a total of $450 per week.
Under the previous pilot project, William could earn wages equivalent to 40 percent of his weekly EI benefits before his benefits would be reduced. This allowed him to keep $132.
But, his earnings above the 40 percent threshold reduced his benefit payment dollar for dollar. So, William’s combined earnings and EI benefit would have come to a total of $462.
Under the new pilot project that will be put in place on August 5th, William will keep 50 cents of every dollar he earns while he is claiming benefits. His combined weekly income will now be $555—$93 more than under the previous pilot.
This change allows EI claimants to keep more of what they earn, and encourages them to stay in the job market.
For example, while EI claimants are waiting for a permanent full-time job to open up, they will have a greater incentive to accept part-time or occasional work, helping them keep their skills up to date.
We recognize that Canadians want to get back to work and statistics show that those who stay active in, and remain connected to, the labour market find permanent employment faster.
Our government is committed to supporting Canadian workers and ensuring that EI enables a strong and competitive workforce.
I’d like to take a minute to touch on my travels this summer.
During the time I have taken to talk about our government’s top priorities of job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity for Canadians, I’ve also been listening.
It has been an opportunity for me to clarify information and listen to feedback on our changes to EI.
After all, EI is Canada’s single largest labour market program and we want to ensure that it remains fair, flexible and responsive to the needs of Canadians.
It became quite clear how much confusion exists about the changes, partly because others have been spreading misinformation to scare people.
Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to reinforce that these changes are reasonable and based on common sense, and they will ensure the EI system better helps Canadians find work—and supports them while doing so.
This most recent change—making it possible for Canadians to have more money from working than they would from EI alone—is a good example of how we’re making things better.
After all, helping Canadians get back to work is better for them, better for their families and better for their communities.
Thank you.
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