EI Changes Hurting Region; Need Further Study: Yarmouth MLA

Federal Human Resources Minister Diane Finley says changes to Employment Insurance are a reasonable way to help Canadians get back to work faster. Finley was commenting following a request from the four Atlantic premiers to suspend changes made to the program. Under new rules, workers must accept a job within 100 kilometres of their home as long as they are qualified and the pay is at least 70 per cent of their old salary. Yarmouth Liberal MLA Zach Churchill says seasonal employment is a critical component of the regional economy and changes to EI will drive even more people to other parts of the country looking for more stable employment.



At the Atlantic premiers annual meeting yesterday on the South Shore, they called for further study of the new EI rules, saying they're hurting seasonal industries.