• CTF urges Maritime premiers to stop fighting EI changes and instead support reforms

• CTF plan means a working couple could save up to $4,277 this year in a personal unemployment account

HALIFAX, NS: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says it is time for Maritime premiers to stop defending the broken Employment Insurance system and instead support reforms that benefit the vast majority of Maritime workers who pay into the system but rarely draw from it. 

A report released by the CTF today shows that EI is no longer a true “insurance” system for workers who are temporarily unemployed. Instead the Federation is calling for changes that would allow Maritimers to keep the money that they and their employers pay in EI taxes in a personal unemployment account.

“EI is a mess. Rather than clinging to a system that just doesn’t work, politicians need to invest in creating a system that is fair and sustainable,” said Kevin Lacey Atlantic Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “The current system is failing everyone.”

“The math on EI is really simple – we can’t grow the region by promoting 14 week jobs in a 52 week economy,” said Lacey.

The CTF report, titled Unmasking Employment Insurance: How EI Increases Unemployment and Steals Billions from Working Canadians also shows that EI is grossly unfair to workers who rarely collect or never collect at all.

Under the CTF plan, EI contributions would not go into government coffers, but into personal unemployment accounts that could be accessed if the worker became unemployed. If at the time of retirement there was money left over in their unemployment account, it would stay with the employee as their own retirement savings.

“If you’re a frequent EI claimant, you’re going to have to make your EI savings go further, or you’re going to have to find work,” said Gregory Thomas, CTF Federal Director. “And if you’re rarely without work, you will have a nice little nest egg once you retire.”

“Ottawa keeps telling Canadians to save more for retirement,” continued Thomas. “If the government got its hands out of the pockets of working Canadians, a gainfully employed couple each earning $47,400 a year could save a $67,000 nest egg in 10 years by keeping the EI contributions that are taxed away from them now.”

Statistics Canada numbers show that between 2008-10 the Maritime provinces had amongst the highest percentages of “frequent” EI recipients in  Prince Edward Island (59.9 per cent), New Brunswick (49 per cent) and Nova Scotia (42.8 per cent).

The CTF is calling on premiers to, rather than criticise the Federal government’s 2012 EI changes, suggest concrete solutions that help frequent EI users break the cycle, and treat workers who rarely need to use the EI system fairly.

To get the detailed 30-page CTF expose on Canada’s EI, click HERE.