The new EI changes are negatively impacting on the P.E.I. economy and Premier Pat Binns is calling on Ottawa to make immediate changes in the regulations.
Premier Binns says what was promoted as a beneficial change is actually turning into a major deterrent for some seasonal workers. The move to hours was supposed to be a benefit, but that is not how it is turning out. "A low number of hours worked in a week dramatically reduces a person's weekly average. For example, one hour of work in a week would constitute a weeks work in terms of calculating the average earnings for EI entitlement."
The Premier says the result is disastrous for both employers and employees. An employee who accepts a few hours of work in a week because it is available and they want to work can be hit with a significant reduction in benefits when they next claim EI. An employer who needs employees for short periods, such as potato packers, the food service industry and all seasonal businesses find it more difficult to get people willing to work for short periods because of the EI implications.
The Premier says the EI changes are completely opposed to the manner in which the changes were promoted and simply aren't sensitive to the reality of a highly seasonal economy such as that of Prince Edward Island. "I am calling on the Minister of Human Resource Development Canada, Honourable Pierre Pettigrew to take quick action to correct the problem."