Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the hon. member regarding her concerns for seasonal workers.
The employment situation of all Canadians is a matter of great concern for this government.
As the hon. member knows, our country faces ongoing labour and skills shortages. Therefore, it is important that we make changes now to ensure the employment insurance program is working effectively for Canadians.
The extra five weeks pilot project was always intended as a temporary measure. It was brought in during Canada's economic action plan to help people during the downturn of the recession. The purpose of the EI pilot project is to conduct a test for a defined period, up to three years, in order to accurately assess the labour markets impacts on new approaches that are designed to assist the unemployed.
The extended EI benefits pilot project was designed as a temporary measure to define and provide an extra five weeks of EI benefits for claimants in 21 regions with higher than average unemployment rates as a result of the economic downturn.
The pilot project came to its scheduled end on September 15, and even earlier in regions where there was a sustained period of economic recovery whereby the unemployment rate remained below 8% for 12 consecutive months.
This considered, all EI claimants, including those who are seasonal workers, can still continue to benefit from other recent EI measures introduced by our government. In fact, we are pleased that nearly 900,000 net new jobs have been created since the downturn of the recession, and over 90% of those were full-time.
We have also introduced, through economic action plan 2012, a new national working while on claim pilot project.
Previously, EI claimants could earn the equivalent of 40%, or $75, of their weekly benefits without seeing a reduction in their benefits. However, if their earnings were above that threshold, their benefits were reduced dollar for dollar. This created a disincentive to accept work beyond the earnings threshold. Under the new working while on claim pilot project that came into effect on August 5, eligible claimants are able to keep EI benefits equalling 50% of every dollar earned while on claim, up to 90% of the weekly insurable earnings used to calculate the EI benefits amount. The intent is to encourage claimants to accept all available work while receiving EI benefits and earning some additional income while on claim.
We know some concerns have been raised about this new pilot project, and we have listened. That is why we recently announced adjustments to the new pilot project.
This will allow individuals to temporarily revert to the rules that existed under the previous pilot project.
As our government is focused on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity, we are committed to supporting workers and ensuring that EI enables a strong and competitive workforce for all Canadians in every region of the country.