'US bullying': Groups call for EI reforms to stabilize economy

To avoid temporary or permanent workforce reductions amid the US tariffs, an employer can register for the federal Work-Share Program if certain requirements are met, noted one expert. 

The cost of US tariffs on Canada 

The groups – which include Unifor, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Labour Studies at Simon Fraser University – said that the US tariffs will result in an economic downturn. And the most vulnerable workers will be affected, “initially racialized workers and newcomers, but eventually women, youth and low-income workers in precarious work,” they said. 

“Employed in part-time, casual, sporadic and misclassified jobs, many of these vulnerable workers will struggle to access EI benefits under existing rules.” 

The groups are hoping that Ottawa will reinstate the EI “temporary flexibilities” introduced in 2020-22, which they said should not be confused with the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) or the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). 

The flexibilities include:

• A national unemployment rate set sufficiently high to establish a universal 420-hour entrance requirement for both EI regular and special benefits 
• A 300-hour credit for those with precarious employment 
• A minimum weekly benefit rate of at least $500 (if adjusted for post 2020 inflation, it would be $600) 
• A significant increase in Maximum Insurable Earnings and the 55% benefit rate so that moderate/higher-income workers have a liveable benefit 
• A minimum of 26 weeks for regular benefits (and automatic 50-week extension for workers already on claims like those in auto plants undergoing retooling) 
• When establishing eligibility, consider only the most recent reason for separation 
• Waive the waiting period and pay benefits from the first week 
• Suspend the allocation of separation payments (severance, vacation pay) so that EI is payable from the first week
• Ensure migrants contributing EI premiums have full access to EI. 

“Given the economic disruption and job displacements, it is also urgent that the federal government restore and enhance the EI Part 2 supplements that were eliminated from provincial Labour Market Agreements in the last budget,” said the groups. “Provincially administered retraining and employment programs are more important than ever.” 

Previously, Ottawa introduced a bill to amend the Department of Employment and Social Development Act to create an Employment Insurance (EI) Board of Appeal to establish what it calls a more client-centric appeal process. 

Ottawa’s response to US tariffs 

The groups also criticized the federal government’s response thus far to the US tariffs. In late January, The Globe and Mail reported that the federal government is planning a multibillion-dollar, pandemic-style bailout for workers and businesses in the face of the US tariffs. 

However, “it’s become clear the government is actually assuming a ‘no-cost’ response to the tariff upheavals,” said the groups.  

They said that, to date, the government’s EI proposals emphasize EI Work Sharing and targeting trade-exposed industries immediately at risk from US tariffs. However, “this will be totally inadequate for several reasons”, they said, because: 

• the economic effects of protracted, broad-based tariffs will not be confined to traded industries 
• EI Work Sharing is inappropriate for many workplaces and falls short of comprehensive coverage for workers needing assistance, including those who can’t qualify for EI. 

About one million Canadians could lose their job because of the trade war that Trump started, and that may even be a “conservative” estimate, according to one expert. And with Canadians expecting job cuts amid the tariffs issue, 80% want the Canadian federal government to support people who would be impacted by job losses, according to a previous report.