MP Gallant Committed to Making Parliament Work

September 15, 2009

OTTAWA, ONTARIO… MP Cheryl Gallant, (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke) today welcomed announced changes to provide additional Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits to unemployed long-tenured workers.

“This is the right thing to do and it is both fair and responsible,” stated Cheryl Gallant, MP.  “It will help my constituents who have worked hard and paid EI premiums for many years and who now, because of the global economic slowdown, through no fault of their own, find themselves unemployed.”
This new measure is designed to provide additional support to workers who have paid EI premiums for years and made limited use of the program, while they look for jobs in a recovering economy. It will provide from five to 20 weeks of additional benefits, depending on how long an eligible individual has been working and paying into EI.
This interim measure, which builds on those introduced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan, would be phased out gradually as the economy improves.

“The proposed initiative should go a long way towards bridging long-tenured workers to give them time to find alternative employment, particularly as the labour market improves,” stated MP Gallant. “This measure should benefit about 190,000 long-tenured workers.”

A long-tenured worker is someone who:

• has contributed to the EI program (paid at least 30% of the annual maximum EI premiums) for at least seven out of ten calendar years; and
• has received regular EI benefits for no more than 35 weeks in the last five years.

The proposed legislation would extend regular benefits for eligible long-tenured workers by between five and 20 weeks, depending on the number of years they have worked and paid EI premiums.

“Shutting down the nation’s business to hold an unnecessary, costly election will not provide unemployed forestry workers with jobs here in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke or anywhere else. One has to do more than “just visit” this Riding to appreciate the fact that unemployed workers and their families depend on government to provide solutions,” concluded Cheryl Gallant, MP.