Obviously, a set criterion of 420 hours would be the best solution, since people would be able to qualify. Some chambermaids who have been working at the same business for 20 years have to work weekends in the winter or they can't get the 700 hours required. They have been working at the same place for a long time, but if they did not work part time during the winter, they would not be eligible for EI. Whenever they can work, they do, because that way, they are eligible for EI the following year.
A fixed unemployment rate would also reduce all that insecurity. Every October, people call us to find out what the unemployment rate is. It causes them stress all summer long. Some women work so much that they don't even have time off. They work seven days a week to get as many hours as possible. That makes it very hard to have a good quality of life.