Human Resources committee  I think that we need to maintain EI, because it has served its purpose historically. Because it's funded by employers and by workers, and hopefully, in addition, the federal government, I think it represents additional revenue streams. I am skeptical about basic income in terms

Human Resources committee  I think the bigger problem here is the misclassification of workers who are constituted as independent contractors, who should be constituted as workers. That should end. There should be a provision whereby those bona fide individual self-employed people have an option to opt in

Human Resources committee  Yes, I think there's a way of doing it that would accommodate those people. I think there is a model in Quebec around the child care program that we could draw from.

Human Resources committee  Yes, very quickly I'll say that people are being forced into very unsafe working conditions. Those are people who still have their jobs. People without jobs are having difficulty getting the income supports they need. I wanted to touch on how many workers come through the centre

Human Resources committee  Thank you. I do think we need to move quickly on this. We knew right away, as soon as COVID hit, that the old employment insurance system was not up to the task. It is important that we address the major barriers to EI. What's exciting about this is that it's doable. If we actu

Human Resources committee  That is especially if the federal government steps up with its portion of the funding.

Human Resources committee  Yes, it's absolutely devastating to those workers, and it's devastating to the economy. When we talk about 30% of unemployed people in an urban centre receiving EI, 70% of unemployed workers are not getting it. That isn't just bad for workers. That is also terrible for the econo

Human Resources committee  Yes. It's absolutely very important to have a minimum floor. Imagine trying to live in a province where the minimum wage is $11.90 an hour. Living on 55% of that is just untenable even if you were lucky enough to have full-time work. I couldn't agree more that we need to have a m

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. I think it's reducing the hours threshold and making it permanent. As I said, the step toward 420 hours is a good step forward, but it really needs to go down further. That is a very important aspect of it, because as I said, basically, the EI thresho

Human Resources committee  Thank you for those very important questions. Around the hours question, even though technically EI eligibility is determined by the number of hours, think about even the 420 hours to qualify. That translates into a worker having to work a full 35 hours a week, uninterrupted, fo

Human Resources committee  Yes, that's a very important question. The federal government plays an important role in providing the funds and resources so that the EI system can actually include all the workers it needs to include. As a reminder, as my colleagues have also said, funding EI is an investment i

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. I'm glad to be here. Yes, I'm an organizer with the Workers' Action Centre, but I'm also speaking today as a signatory to the submission by the interprovincial employment insurance working group. This submission is signed by over 80 labour and frontline advo