We attended a presentation a few weeks ago sponsored by the EI commissioner for workers, where there were a number of government staff there who deal with EI. One of the things they noted is that they see some troubling signs on the horizon for them from some of the most recent numbers regarding individuals who are in jobs that tend to be lower paying and with fewer hours.
They're finding that their numbers of people who have exhausted EI benefits in the past 12 months are popping. That's because even if these people qualify, they have nowhere nearly enough benefit weeks. The chart looks like this. The EI hours grid is very complicated, but essentially both the entry rules and the duration rules are in 35-hour increments.
I was just taking a look at the numbers for Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg. They have the same unemployment rate of 6.1% to 7%. I took the case of a cashier at a grocery store. They have some of the worst standards as far as hours are concerned—25 hours a week is the average in that sector. Right now in Toronto, Montreal, or Winnipeg, if that woman works for six months straight for 25 hours a week and then gets laid off, she does not qualify for a single cent of EI benefits. Her co-worker who might have enough to get over the initial hurdle will get a lot fewer weeks than she would have in the previous incarnations of EI.
It's increasing. We knew it was a problem. We predicted it would be a problem. The department's staff are saying it's starting to crop up in their numbers.