The Canadian Press reports, “The Harper government has quietly relented in the face of bruising criticism that changes it recently made to Employment Insurance were punishing those who could least afford it. Just before MP’s headed off for the Thanksgiving long weekend, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley issued a release detailing adjustments to the Employment Insurance Working While on Claim pilot project.”
“The concern has been that part-time workers at the bottom of the pay scale who also collect EI make less money under the pilot project because more of their EI benefits are clawed back. Under the (previous) system EI claimants who worked part-time could earn up to 40 per cent of their weekly EI benefits or $75, whichever was larger, without affecting their benefits. If their weekly earnings surpassed the 40 per cent cap the government clawed back each dollar of the extra earnings from the claimant’s EI benefits. Under the new rules (of the pilot project adopted by the Harper government) the clawback is only 50 cents on the dollar, but there is no cap. The clawback begins at the first dollar earned, meaning claimants at the lowest end of the wage scale can end up with less money.”
The Toronto Star adds, “The Harper government acknowledged it had made mistake with its Employment Insurance reforms and moved to alter a measure that was penalizing low-income Canadians holding part-time jobs while collecting EI. …Opposition MPs have hammered the government over the measure, saying it unfairly punishes those who work at low-paying, part-time jobs by clawing back their employment benefits. …The decision, which has been under consideration for weeks, was slipped out late on Friday before the long holiday weekend, a tactic sometimes used by governments seeking to limit public awareness of a controversial decision.”
The articles are at http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/all/Harper+government+backtracks+changes+that+penalized+some/7354930/story.html and http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1267605–tories-to-fix-employment-insurance-measure.
