PQ creates $1.5M panel to challenge federal EI reform

The committee includes somewell-known sovereigntists, such as the former Bloc Qubcois leader, Gilles Duceppe.

Former PQ minister Rita Dionne-Marsolais will co-chair the panel with Duceppe. Also sitting on the committee are Michel Bdard, former chief actuary of the federal EI program, and Yvon Boudreau, a former deputy minister who was responsible for Emploi-Qubec.

The panel has been given a $1.5-million budget to travel around the province, carrying out public consultations on the impact of the EI changes. The committee is expected to produce a report based on its findings.

Alexandre Cloutier, intergovernmental affairs minister, said the intention is not to raise tensions, but to defend Quebec's workers.

"We need new recommendations on employment insurance, to have a better one, that respects Quebec's economy," he said.

'They're trying to set fires all over Quebec' says CAQ

Quebec's government and opposition parties have agreed that EI changes will take a heavy toll on many of the province's seasonal workers.

But some critics suggest the new panel is not the best approach for fighting the reforms.

In brief: EI changes

Among the changes to EI, which took effect in January, were the definitions of "suitable employment" and "a reasonable job search."

Under the new regulations, several factors such as type of work, wages, commuting time, working conditions, hours of work, and personal circumstances, will be considered when defining "suitalbe employment."

Repeat claimants may be required to accept jobs that are available off-season rather than wait for their old jobs to resumeeven if the new jobs pay up to 30 per cent less than their normal wages and are up to an hour's commute away, as long as the pay is above what they would have received from EI.