OTTAWA – The New Democratic Party urges the government to reverse its decision to further restrict access to employment insurance and penalize the most vulnerable workers.
Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development, Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain), tabled the following motion in the House:
That this House call on the Conservative government to abandon plans to further restrict access to Employment Insurance for Canadian workers who have followed the rules and who will now be forced to choose between taking a pay cut of up to 30% or losing their Employment Insurance benefits.
“The government is granting itself the right to define what constitutes “suitable employment”. This forces the unemployed, after a short period of benefits, to accept a job that doesn’t correspond to their qualifications, and at lower wages. This especially hurts seasonal workers and the regional industries that rely on them,” said Charlton.
She added: “This has nothing to do with connecting workers with suitable jobs. This is all about driving down wages. The Conservatives love free markets, unless it’s a labour market.”
The NDP urges the government to come to its senses and cancel these repressive measures that will reduce wages across the country. The NDP calls on Conservative MPs to support Charlton’s motion, as their constituents will also pay the consequences for this thoughtless plan.
