Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Few Jobless In Toronto Are Collecting Employment Insurance Benefits

The Canadian Press , 03 Sep, 2014 02:32 PM
    OTTAWA - Just 17 per cent of unemployed Torontonians are collecting employment insurance benefits, one of the city's lowest rates ever as it confronts a higher jobless rate than the provincial and national average.
     
    There are more than 307,000 jobless Torontonians, according to the latest Statistics Canada figures. Fewer than 54,480 of them are collecting EI.
     
    Experts point out that while many are chronically unemployed citizens who don't qualify for benefits, others are part of an evolving labour market that isn't being reflected by Canada's EI system.
     
    Matthew Mendelsohn, director of the University of Toronto's Mowat Centre, says EI is out of step with labour market realities in the country's biggest cities, leaving tens of thousands of workers without a social safety net.
     
    Mendelsohn says people living in big cities often hold down multiple part-time jobs. Some are in contract positions, and contracts run out. Some work for temp agencies. Many are self-employed and see work dry up.
     
    A lot of those workers don't pay EI premiums, meaning they're unable to access employment insurance when they find themselves out of work. Others pay into the system but can't collect because they haven't logged enough hours in a set time period.
     
    Mendelsohn suggests an overhaul of the system that would result in Canadians in non-traditional employment arrangements contributing to the system so they can collect benefits if they lose their jobs.
     
    Andrew Cash, a Toronto NDP MP, says Toronto and other big cities are ill-served by the current system. There's lots of cyclical work in cities, like film and television work, and the EI system needs to protect those employees.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Ontario police release video to help find potential witnesses in 2010 murder

    Ontario police release video to help find potential witnesses in 2010 murder
    Ontario Provincial Police have released a video to try to identify two people they say could be witnesses in the unsolved murder of a central Ontario woman.

    Ontario police release video to help find potential witnesses in 2010 murder

    Freight train derails in southern Saskatchewan; CPR says plow winds were cause

    Freight train derails in southern Saskatchewan; CPR says plow winds were cause
    Canadian Pacific Railway says strong plow winds caused the derailment of a train in southern Saskatchewan on Thursday night.

    Freight train derails in southern Saskatchewan; CPR says plow winds were cause

    Canadian relief supplies going to Iraq, RCAF flies in donated weaponry

    Canadian relief supplies going to Iraq, RCAF flies in donated weaponry
    Canada is sending relief supplies to Iraq from a newly established warehouse in Dubai.

    Canadian relief supplies going to Iraq, RCAF flies in donated weaponry

    Scientists at Canada's National Lab created, tested the anti-Ebola drug ZMapp

    Scientists at Canada's National Lab created, tested the anti-Ebola drug ZMapp
    The experimental Ebola drug ZMapp was able to save monkeys even when treatment was started five days after the animals were infected, when some were suffering from advanced disease, a new study shows.

    Scientists at Canada's National Lab created, tested the anti-Ebola drug ZMapp

    Privacy commissioner rules Medicentres failed to protect info on stolen laptop

    Privacy commissioner rules Medicentres failed to protect info on stolen laptop
    Alberta's privacy commissioner says a chain of medical clinics failed to protect patients' health information on a laptop that was stolen — and took too long to publicly report the theft.

    Privacy commissioner rules Medicentres failed to protect info on stolen laptop

    Royal Canadian Mint unveils new limited-edition Superman coin collection

    Royal Canadian Mint unveils new limited-edition Superman coin collection
    The Royal Canadian Mint on Friday unveiled four limited-edition Superman coins, reproducing colourful iconic images from DC Comics' book covers.

    Royal Canadian Mint unveils new limited-edition Superman coin collection