Tell your MP: Don't make Employment Insurance WORSE!

On Saturday, September 10, We want as many people as possible to let their local Members of Parliament (MPs) know it's urgent they extend the current EI Recovery Measures!

Here are three things you can do this Saturday: 

1. Visit your MP office: to find your MP, click here and type in your postal code, then head to the office:

• Tape a message to the door, window, or wall of the office. You can download and print this poster which has the demands clearly listed. 
  If you don’t have a printer, make a hand-written sign saying:
  Extend current temporary EI rules NOW! We need a bridge to permanent improvements in our Employment Insurance system! 
• Take a selfie with your sign and the MP’s marquee. 

2. Call your MP and key decision-makers: Click here for everything you need to make 5 phone calls to key decision-makers.

3. Take action on social media (or email us a short report & any pictures to [email protected]) 

Post your pix from your MP office visit; post a selfie holding a hand-made sign; let everyone know you’ve called your MP; or share the EI petition!

On September 24, all temporary measures that improved our access to EI will expire. It's urgent we extend the Recovery Measures as a bridge to permanent EI improvements. Workers will otherwise face a huge jump in the current minimum of 420 qualifying hours for both Regular and Special Benefits (parental, sickness, etc), and the allocation/clawback of separation payments. Women, workers of colour, and others in precarious jobs are at particular risk.

At the start of COVID, the federal government relaxed EI eligibility to improve access to emergency support for those most in need. Without these supports, it would have been much worse for workers and their families due to the COVID closures, lockdowns and layoffs. As a Statistics Canada report shows, the positive impact of an accessible EI system on workers' lives is undeniable. [1]

An inaccessible and inadequate EI program is another disaster for workers who need access to EI now when the next crisis hits. That's why we are demanding the federal government immediately extend the temporary EI measures and implement the following permanent changes: 

• Expand EI access:
  • A 360-hour or 12-week qualifying rule with 50 weeks of income support
  • An end to harsh disqualification rules
  • Ensure migrant workers have access to EI
  • End misclassification, a practice where employers falsely label their employees as self-employed independent contractors to avoid paying their fair share of EI and CPP.
• Improve the weekly benefit rate and include a guaranteed weekly minimum
• Fund a new, annual federal government contribution to EI to help pay for improvements, provide adequate staffing with fair pay, and ensure EI acts as an effective economic stabilizer at times of crisis.

[1] "Pandemic benefits cushion losses for low-income earners and narrow income inequality." Statistics Canada. July 13th, 2022.