Interviews
France Simard, Coordinator of the Unemployment Action Movement in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec
Workers' Forum: What's the status on the reform of the employment insurance system that the organizations defending the unemployed are calling for and that the federal government committed to undertake in 2021?
France Simard: Things are not looking good. On February 2, we participated in the forum convened by the Commissioner for Workers, at the Canada Employment Insurance Commission in Ottawa, along with other advocacy organizations for the unemployed and unions.
We
met with various Service Canada representatives, who gave us an update
on the situation. We didn't get any answers to our questions. The
minister responsible for the file was not there, for family emergency
reasons, we were told. She was only present on zoom. Every time we go
to
Ottawa to talk about employment insurance, the minister responsible is
not there. She was very evasive on the issue of the promised employment
insurance reform, she beat around the bush. She could not tell us if
any progress had been made with regard to the projected reform. Things
are not moving
ahead. We have the distinct impression that if the government does
announce a reform, which is not certain, it will be in the next federal
budget in the spring and we'll have no say in it.
WF: During our last interview, you talked about the huge delays in the processing of employment insurance (EI) claims. Clearly, the situation has not improved. Can you tell us more about this?
FS: I raised the issue of processing times during the forum, but the person responsible was unable to answer, she didn't know herself. They have a phased-in plan until 2025, it seems, but we can't wait that long. I told her that we already had to intervene because someone was having thoughts of suicide and asked whether we were expected to wait until someone loses their life before action is taken. We were told that things were moving along well, but they're not.
I've gathered the statistics for my region. Between September 2022 and January 2023, we had 400 cases. Of these, 37 per cent had to wait between one and a half and two months, 38 per cent waited between three and four months, 15 per cent had delays of five to seven months, and 8 per cent between eight and eleven months. In 35 per cent of the cases, it is necessary for us to intervene at least four to eight times before the file is settled. The consequences are terrible: psychological distress, insomnia, stress, reliance on food banks, last resort assistance, bad credit ratings, threats of losing one's home, insurance, evictions, telephone lines cut. The list goes on.
We're not able to figure out exactly why these delays occur. We hear about the effect of identity theft on EI recipients and the creation of fraudulent claims, the effects of the pandemic on the service, staff changes, etc. There's no end to it, no end in sight.
In addition, Service Canada agents go way too far with their questions. People are asked if they have a spouse or family who can help them, if they have financial problems, if they are in a state of emergency, if they have enough food. It's a real investigation into someone's personal life before they get the money they're entitled to, that they've worked and paid for.
They ask these kinds of questions to recipients as well as to us. It's embarrassing for them and it's also embarrassing for us.
We're providing more and more food assistance in collaboration with the agencies involved in that type of help, so as to give support. As well, our Member of the National Assembly created the fund "Mon voisin je m'en occupe" which is intended for people in difficulty. We work in collaboration with all these organizations so that recipients' needs are taken care of. Although this assistance is not part of our mandate, we cannot abandon people with these difficulties. We've developed great relationships with all these groups.
WF: What actions are you organizing and what are your demands with regard to moving the situation forward?
FS: We
held a demonstration before the holidays in front of the Service Canada
offices, in cooperation with the Place of Actions and Services Working
in Unity with the Unemployed (LASTUSE) and the CSN in Chicoutimi, where
we put up a Christmas tree with our demands and demanded EI reform as
quickly as possible, on the basis of these demands. We put out press
releases, gave interviews, to make things move.
While awaiting the reform, we're asking that the EI measures in place during the pandemic, which were far more flexible and inclusive, and which were withdrawn in September 2022 with the promise of the reform to come, be reinstated.
These measures included a universal threshold of 420 hours of work required to qualify. They included a minimum benefit rate of $400 per week, and a minimum of 26 weeks of benefits. Service Canada considered only the last record of employment to determine eligibility and benefit amounts, which expedited the processing of claims. Also, payments made upon termination of employment, such as severance pay and vacation pay, were not deducted from benefits.
The old measures have been reverted to, which include requiring workers to work between 420 and 700 hours to qualify for benefits for a benefit period that can be as low as 14 weeks, depending on the case, causing a disastrous situation amongst seasonal workers. Also, agents are now required to review all records of employment, which delays the processing of the claim in cases such as where one of the periods of work includes a voluntary departure, which can even lead to a claimant's disqualification.
For the time being, we are demanding a return to the measures of the pandemic period and are putting forward our demands and those of MASSE (Autonomous and Solidarity Movement of the Unemployed) for an accessible, fair, universal and non-discriminatory employment insurance system.
What is certain is that we will not give up. We will continue to put the maximum amount of pressure on the government in order to get a reform based on these demands.
(Translated from the original French by Workers' Forum)
This article was published in
Number 5 - February 17, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10052.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca