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The longer and more frequently someone is claiming employmentinsurance, the broader their job search will have to be and thelower the wages they must be willing to accept, according toproposed regulations outlined this morning. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley revealed details Thursdayabout plans to reform EI that would change the definitions of"suitable work" and "a reasonable job search." "This will ensure impartiality and strengthen requirements forCanadians receiving EI benefits to actively look for and accept allsuitable work," Finley said at a news conference in Ottawa. She said the government is clarifying the definitions and helpingunemployed Canadians connect to available jobs, not forcing them totake jobs outside where they live or their usual profession. 'This government would have you believe that they're sitting thereand surfing off the shores of Nova Scotia or skiing in themountains of British Columbia .. it's not true.' Ken Georgetti, Canadian Labour Congress Under new regulations expected to be in place by early 2013, thenew definition of suitable employment would be based on sixcriteria: Personal circumstances. Working conditions. Hours of work. Commuting time. Type of work. Hourly wage. Personal circumstances would include health conditions and familysituations, and commuting time is acceptable if it's within onehour, possibly longer if longer commuting times are normal in agiven community. $485 maximum in EI can be collected The type of work and hourly wages considered suitable could change,depending on how long someone is claiming the benefit.Approximately 500,000 Canadians are claiming EI at any given time.The benefit pays eligible Canadians a maximum of 55 per cent oftheir average weekly earnings. The maximum weekly amount is $485. The government intends to classify claimants in three categories: Long-tenured workers have paid into the EI program for seven of thepast 10 years, and over the last five years have collected regularor fishing benefits for 35 weeks or less Frequent claimants are those who have had three or more claims(regular or fishing) for a total of more than 60 weeks in the pastfive years. Occasional claimants are all other claimants, who have limitedexperience in being unemployed. After collecting EI benefits for 18 weeks, long-tenured workers,for example, would be required to expand their job search to jobsconsidered similar to their previous job and to accept wages at 80per cent of their previous hourly wage. A frequent EI user, after receiving benefits for seven weeks, wouldbe required to accept any work they are qualified to do and toaccept wages starting at 70 per cent of their previous hourly wage. Seasonal workers will fall into the frequent-user category. An occasional user could limit their job search to their usualoccupation and wage for the first six weeks, and as more time goesby, they will also have to expand their search and be willing toaccept work they are qualified to do and accept a lower salary.After 18 weeks, they would be required to accept wages starting at70 per cent of their previous earnings but not lower than minimumwage. Goal to find work that matches skills, Finley says Finley had been under pressure to reveal details about the plannedchanges, first laid out broadly in the March budget. The budgetimplementation bill proposes giving cabinet the authority to makenew EI regulations but until today, the government had beentight-lipped about what those regulations would look like. Opposition MPs and other critics speculated that the government wasgoing to force unemployed Canadians to move and accept jobs outsidetheir occupation, a suggestion Finley denied Thursday. "The changes that we are proposing to EI are not about forcingpeople to move across Canada or to take work that doesn't matchtheir skill set. Our goal is to help Canadians find local work thatmatches their skills," she said. Finley also gave more details on how EI officials will determine ifa claimant is making reasonable efforts to find work. Claimantswill be assessed based on their job search activities, theintensity and frequency of their efforts, the type of work they arelooking for and on the evidence they have to prove their efforts. EI recipients will be required to apply for positions, attendinterviews, go to job fairs and workshops, search for vacancies andto do these activities every day that they are receiving benefits.They have to keep a record of their activities and if EI recipientsdon't comply with these rules, they could be cut off from theprogram. Part of the government's new plan is to introduce a new job searchservice that will feature daily emails to EI claimants, withenhanced job information. The new Job Alerts system will draw fromthe federal government's Job Bank service and from private-sectorjob postings. Recipients will get job postings from their chosen occupation andrelated occupational sectors, and from communities withinreasonable commuting distances, and the emails will include labourmarket information such as wage rates. Currently, claimaints receive job postings from the federal JobBank every two weeks. $21M set aside for EI overhaul The government also says it plans to do more to reduce reliance onthe temporary foreign workers program so that employers turn firstto unemployed Canadians. It plans to enhance information sharingbetween the EI and the temporary foreign worker program. Finley's department gave examples of where employers have appliedto the federal government for permission to bring in foreignworkers where unemployed Canadians are collecting EI. In Alberta in January, employers were allowed to hire 1, 261temporary workers for food-counter attendants and at the same time,nearly 350 Canadians made a claim for EI who said they hadexperience in that job. In Prince Edward Island in the same month,294 unemployed fish plant workers made EI claims, while 60 foreignworkers were approved for work in the same job. "In a lot of cases they can't hire Canadian workers simply becausethe Canadian workers don't know that the jobs exist and we're goingto help those workers find out about those job postings, those jobavailabilities," said Finley. "I think that will help theemployers." The minister said that McDonald's, for example, shouldn't bebringing in foreign workers to do jobs that Canadians who are on EIhave the skills to do. The department is anticipating that less than one per cent ofclaimaints would be cut off due to the new rules. Finley said $21 million is being invested in implementing the newsystem and that most of that money will go to the new job alertservice and some money will be dedicated to enforcing the newrules. Finley said most EI claimants do follow the rules and she expectsthat will continue. The NDP's finance critic, Peggy Nash, called the proposed changesdisappointing and said they will restrict access to EI. "What we heard today is the minister scapegoating unemployedCanadians, that they're not trying hard enough to find work," Nashsaid. She said Finley is sending a message that the unemployed are lazyand don't want to work. Nash said more pressure should be put onemployers to create more jobs in order to reduce the unemploymentlevel. The Liberals also reacted negatively to the announcement, saying ina statement that they will penalize the unemployed. Human resourcescritic Rodger Cuzner said his party is concerned that the proposedrules will force people to take low-skilled, low-paying jobs andwill jeopardize the economic security of communities that rely onseasonal industries. The Liberals called on the government to strip the EI reformmeasures out of the omnibus budget bill so they can be given morescrutiny. Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said theEI changes amount to "ridiculous economic policy." "It's short-term thinking and it's political football with thepeople that are the most vulnerable in our society. People who areunemployed don't want to be unemployed. This government would haveyou believe that they're sitting there and surfing off the shoresof Nova Scotia or skiing in the mountains of British Columbia ...it's not true," he said on CBC News Network. He also noted that people using employment insurance may not havethe internet access that will be required to receive the daily jobposting emails. 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