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Archived - Helping the Unemployed

Highlights

The Government has taken extraordinary and unprecedented action to help Canadian workers facing layoffs or job losses weather the economic conditions. Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, the Government has provided more Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, greater training opportunities and better supports for employees and employers. This year, an additional $5.8 billion will be paid out in EI benefits, while the provinces and territories will receive $750 million to implement additional training programs.

The Government is also leaving more money in the hands of Canadians by freezing EI premium rates for 2010 at $1.73, the same rate as 2009 and the lowest rate since 1982.

The Economic Action Plan is providing additional benefits now when Canadians need them the most. Since September, close to 100,000 more individuals are receiving up to an extra five weeks of EI benefits. This means that so far this year, more than 395,000 people are receiving up to an additional $2,235 in benefits, at a cost of $574 million. In addition:

• Enhanced EI work-sharing agreements have supported more than 225,000 individuals since the initiative was launched in February, of which approximately 167,000 are currently participating in work-sharing agreements.
• Long-tenured workers are receiving extended EI benefits to enable access to longer-term training through the Career Transition Assistance initiative. The Government is implementing recent legislation to temporarily extend EI benefits for long-tenured workers by up to 20 weeks.
• Under the Wage Earner Protection Program, Canadians have received more than $24 million in payments including severance payments and termination pay.

Enhanced training and work experience measures in 2009–10 are in place to support Canadian workers and help them transition into new jobs and opportunities:

• More than 90,000 Canadians are benefiting from funds currently flowing to provinces and territories to support training.
• An additional $10 million in 2009–10 for the Canada Summer Jobs Program allowed employers to hire approximately 3,500 students this summer.
• Investments are flowing for 58 projects through the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, supporting over 2,000 older workers.
• Since July, over 10,000 Apprenticeship Completion Grants, worth $2,000 per individual, have been awarded.
• To support skills development and create employment opportunities, Aboriginal Canadians will participate in approximately 90 projects across the country, of which over 55 have begun since September.
• In addition to actions taken under the Economic Action Plan, the Government has introduced the Fairness for the Self-Employed Act, which would extend EI special benefits, including maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits, to the self-employed.

Introduction

All across the country, Canadians have felt the impacts of the global economic slowdown—whether it be the loss of a job, the downsizing of a plant or a shift to part-time work. Including the support provided to long-tenured workers through Bill C-50, Canada's Economic Action Plan includes $7.0 billion over two years to support those workers most affected and help them access opportunities through skills development and training.

Table 2.5
Helping the Unemployed

	2009–10	2010–11	Total
	(millions of dollars)
Strengthening benefits for Canadian workers	1,115	1,550	2,665
Enhancing the availability of training	940	965	1,905
Maintaining low Employment Insurance premium rates	818	1,631	2,449
Total—Helping the Unemployed	2,873	4,146	7,019
Note: Totals may not add due to rounding. Amounts differ from the Third Report to Canadians due to the inclusion of additional support provided to long-tenured workers.

 

The EI program is continuing to meet the needs of Canadians in a changing labour market, providing more benefits when they are needed most. This year, the Government will spend approximately $5.8 billion more on EI benefits than last year, providing support to more Canadians. In addition, the Government has recognized the challenges faced by Canadians in these tough economic times, and is making substantial investments under the Economic Action Plan to provide workers with the training they need to transition into new jobs.

Canadians continue to need timely access to EI benefits that reflect their local labour market conditions. In areas where unemployment has risen, the program is automatically adjusting, lowering the entrance requirement and extending the duration of EI benefits. Between October 2008 and November 2009, 83 per cent of Canadian workers had easier access to EI for longer benefit durations.

As of November 2009, 39 of 58 regions have a lower eligibility requirement and longer duration of benefits than in October 2008.

Canadians Are Getting the Support They Need

The Government is making the necessary investments to ensure that Canadians continue to receive the services and benefits they need, when they need them. Canadians count on the Government to deliver EI benefits in an efficient and timely manner, to answer questions and concerns, and to resolve problems quickly and professionally.

• Strengthened services are ensuring faster processing of claims, while also handling a nearly 30-per-cent year-over-year increase in claims.
• Extended service hours are ensuring timely responses to a larger number of inquiries.

Despite the growth in claims, more than 80 per cent of Canadians submitting new claims had a cheque in hand within 28 days. The Government is monitoring service standards and will ensure that EI benefits continue to flow in a timely manner.

The Government is also taking extra steps to ensure that Canadian workers who are eligible for EI are aware of all the services and benefits available to them. The new Client Information Sessions are targeted specifically to long-tenured workers who have recently lost their jobs, providing them with information about options to help them return to work or pursue training for a new job, such as the Career Transition Assistance initiative. The Mobile Outreach Services are intended for employers and workers facing imminent layoffs. Unemployed workers across the country are already benefiting from the Client Information Sessions, which were launched in September. Participants in these sessions have found them to be informative and timely.

Helping the Unemployed

The Economic Action Plan is providing the necessary support for workers and families hardest hit by the global recession. Significantly enhanced EI benefits and increased training opportunities are providing Canadians with needed support at a critical time, helping them prepare for a prosperous future.

Strengthening Benefits for Canadians

Extra Five Weeks of EI Regular Benefits: Additional benefits provided under the Economic Action Plan are flowing to Canadian workers at an unprecedented rate. As of November, more than 395,000 claimants had benefited from this increase in benefits at a cost of $574 million. Five extra weeks of benefits adds up to as much as an additional $2,235 in EI benefits for an unemployed worker.

Enhanced Work-Sharing Flexibility: The work-sharing program has protected a record number of jobs that otherwise might have been lost by allowing employees to continue working a reduced work week while they receive EI benefits for the days they do not work. This has in turn allowed businesses to keep their skilled workers employed until the business recovers. Since the Economic Action Plan augmented this initiative in February, over 225,000 Canadians have benefited from the program, of which approximately 167,000 are currently participating in work-sharing agreements.

 

Support for Long-Tenured Workers: The Career Transition Assistance initiative is providing Canadians who have worked for years and paid into EI, while claiming very little, with substantially increased support to retrain for a new job, potentially in a completely different line of work. This initiative is extending the duration of EI benefits for these workers up to a maximum of two years while they are receiving longer-term training. In addition, workers who use their severance package to pay for training are able to access EI benefits sooner.

Participation in the Career Transition Assistance initiative is dependent upon referral by provinces and territories. To date, more than 6,000 long-tenured workers are participating in the initiative. It is estimated that the initiative will have 15,000 to 20,000 clients by the time client intake ends in May 2010.

The Government has recently taken steps to temporarily increase support to long-tenured workers who have paid premiums for years but have made little or no use of EI and need extra help while they transition into new employment. Recently passed legislation extends benefits for eligible individuals by between 5 and 20 weeks, at a projected cost of $935 million. This measure is expected to benefit approximately 190,000 long-tenured workers. Cheques are now being sent to eligible long-tenured workers.

Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP): Since January 2009, when the extended benefits under the WEPP took effect, over 11,000 claimants have received $24 million in payments, including termination and severance pay. The WEPP continues to respond quickly and efficiently to Canadian workers who are owed wages, severance and termination and vacation pay when their employer becomes bankrupt and does not pay.

Enhancing the Availability of Training

The Government already has a strong record of support for training and labour market programs. Prior to the Economic Action Plan, provinces and territories were already receiving more than $2.8 billion annually to fund training programs and other labour market supports to help Canadians prepare for and find new employment. The Economic Action Plan strengthened these benefits by providing an additional $1.9 billion over two years for targeted investments aimed at developing a more highly skilled, flexible and knowledgeable workforce.

Enhanced Training: The Economic Action Plan is providing unprecedented levels of support to provinces and territories to address their particular labour market priorities. Agreements to deliver this additional funding have now been signed with all jurisdictions. These investments are already supporting programs that are helping approximately 90,000 Canadians, 46,000 more than at the time of the Third Report to Canadians in September. These programs are providing: literacy and basic skills upgrading; wage subsidies and earnings supplements; skills enhancement and training; on-the-job training and workplace-based skills upgrading; and employment counselling.

Supporting Youth Employment: The Economic Action Plan has provided an additional $10 million in 2009–10 to the Canada Summer Jobs Program, bringing total available funding for 2009–10 to over $100 million. This has allowed employers, particularly in the not-for-profit sector, to hire over 37,000 students for the summer, of which approximately 10 per cent are attributable to the Action Plan investment.

Under the Economic Action Plan, an additional $10 million was provided in 2009–10 in support of the federal public service student employment program. As of December, 947 more students have been hired through existing federal work programs.

The YMCA and YWCA are receiving $15 million in 2009–10 to implement Grants for Youth Internships, in order to create up to 1,000 internships for Canadian youth in not-for-profit and community services organizations, with a focus on environmental projects. Funding is now flowing and participants are developing valuable skills and knowledge that will help them integrate into the labour market and/or further their education.

Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW): The Economic Action Plan is providing an additional $60 million over three years through the TIOW in support of older workers in a large number of affected communities across the country. The scope of the program has also been expanded to include a greater number of vulnerable communities with populations of less than 250,000. Agreements have been reached with 12 provinces and territories. To date, 58 projects have been approved, providing over 2,000 older workers in vulnerable communities across the country with access to employment activities such as learning assessments, skills training and help finding a job.

Apprenticeship Completion Grant: The Apprenticeship Completion Grant is providing a $2,000 grant to those who complete their apprenticeship in a Red Seal trade, encouraging more young Canadians to finish their training and launch rewarding careers in the skilled trades. Since July, over 10,000 grants have been issued to eligible apprentices in such trades as construction and carpentry.

Aboriginal Skills and Training: The Economic Action Plan is investing $200 million over three years to provide Aboriginal Canadians with training and skills development opportunities and to create jobs in their communities.

The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP) initiative fosters partnerships between Aboriginal organizations, the private sector and governments to create training and employment opportunities. Ten projects have been approved, with seven already having started and another three to begin by January 2010. Work has begun to develop up to nine additional projects.

Through the Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic Investment Fund, support is being provided to more focused, short-term initiatives designed to help Aboriginal Canadians receive the specific training they require to benefit from current employment opportunities, including those generated by the Economic Action Plan. The Fund will support over 80 projects, of which more than 70 have been approved, with more than 50 of those having started since September.

Maintaining Low Employment Insurance Premium Rates

The EI program provides needed support to those who have lost their jobs. During harder economic times, EI pays more benefits to more people, increasing the cost of the program.

As a stimulus measure, the Government has frozen EI premium rates for 2010 at $1.73, the same rate as 2009, and the lowest rate since 1982. This measure leaves more money in the hands of employers and employees. Beginning in 2011, premium rates will be set by the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board according to its mandate, which was defined in Budget 2008. Rates will be raised to offset EI expenses over time, excluding the EI enhancements resulting from the Economic Action Plan.

Table 2.6
Helping the Unemployed

	2009–10 Stimulus Value	Authorities in Place	Stimulus Committed
	(millions of dollars)		(millions of dollars)
An extra five weeks of EI benefits	575	Yes	575
EI—long-tenured workers (Career Transition  Assistance initiative)	250	Yes	250
EI—long-tenured workers (extension  of regular benefits)	165	Yes	165
EI—work-sharing	100	Yes	100
Wage Earner Protection Program	25	Yes	25
EI training programs	500	Yes	500
Strategic Training and Transition Fund	250	Yes	250
Canada Summer Jobs Program	10	Yes	10
Federal public service student  employment program	10	Yes	10
YMCA-YWCA	15	Yes	15
Targeted Initiative for Older Workers	20	Yes	19
Apprenticeship Completion Grant	40	Yes	40
Foreign Credential Recognition Program	25	Yes	25
Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnerships	20	Yes	20
Aboriginal Skills and Training Strategic  Investment Fund	25	Yes	25
Aboriginal Human Resource  Development Strategy	25	Yes	25
Keeping Employment Insurance  rates frozen for 2010	818	Yes	818
Total	2,873		2,872

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