The Canadian Labour Congress has a detailled report on the problems with the current EI system.

Here are some quotes from the summary which answer your question:

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There were four rounds of changes in the 1990's.

The first two rounds, one at the end of 1990 (Bill C-21), and a second in early 1993 ( C-113 ), reduced protection from 74% of the unemployed in 1990 to 57% in 1993.

The third round came with the 1994 Budget. The legislation cut the length of the benefit period by as much as 50% for many claimants, and laid the base for the benefit structure that would be used for the introduction of Employment Insurance in 1996.

The tougher eligibility rules in the 1994 legislation reduced insurance coverage from 57% of the unemployed in 1993 to 42% in 1996.

The fourth round came with the introduction of Employment Insurance, and the conversion of the “weeks system” as the measure of labour force attachment to an “hours system.” More significantly, EI more than tripled the minimum qualifying hours. It also reduced further the length of the benefit period, and quadrupled the weeks to qualify for thousands of part-time workers.

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With both qualifying requirements, and the length of the benefit period determined by a very complex schedule tied to the monthly unemployment rates in 58 different EI regions across the country, coverage ratios vary widely from region to region, province to province, and city to city.

Thirteen of the 24 cities have coverage below 30%. In several cities, less than a quarter of the city’s unemployed receive UI.

The differences are more than geographic. The difference in coverage between men and women is large and has widened with the introduction of Employment Insurance in 1996. The gender gap widens even more for specific age groups.

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[ 02 May 2004: Message edited by: Sara Mayo ]

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Northumberland Labour Council and Coalition Against Poverty
Invite you to attend our workshop
EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE:
THE REAL STORY
Tuesday, May 18th at 7:30 pm
United Way office, Suite 203, Fleming Building
1005 Elgin Street West, Cobourg

Guest Speaker: Jacquie Chic, Executive Director, Income Security Advocacy Centre, Toronto

• learn how weeks became hours and why we all pay premiums but few of us can ever collect benefits

• find out about the huge E.I. surplus and why workers can’t access paid retraining anymore

• join us as we look for ways to make Employment Insurance work to benefit Canadians again

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