Mr. Speaker, starting in April 2013, a new national best weeks program will be introduced to the EI system that would base the number of best weeks on the local unemployment rate. The average of the best weeks would be used to calculate the weekly amount of benefits that EI recipients would get. The current best 14 pilot will be extended through to April next year while this transition goes on.
These changes will remove barriers to employment in low-unemployment areas, but will also ensure that people in regions with similar labour market conditions actually get similar benefits.