Alberta labour minister seeks clarity on enhanced EI benefits from Ottawa

Alberta's labour minister wants the federal government to review theenhancedEmployment Insurance benefits outlinedin last week's budget to make sure they go to the regions in most need.

"This arbitrary cutoff that they've imposed has left us with the situation where Edmonton actually has higher unemployment than some of the regions that were included elsewhere,"Christina Gray told CBC Radio'sThe House.

• Listen to the full episode of The House
• Justin Trudeau says employment insurance changes will be 'monitored and reviewed'
• Premier Rachel Notley says changes to EI program don't add up

The Liberal government selected 12 hard-hit regions that would get help with extra weeks of EI benefits for jobless workers, including parts ofAlberta as well asNewfoundland and Labrador,northern British Columbia, northern Manitoba,northern Ontario, northern Saskatchewan and Saskatoon, Whitehorse andNunavut.

'Cold, hard math' behind EI decision

Prime Minister JustinTrudeauhas maintained the decision to target those 12 specific regions was based on "cold, hard mathematics" and not a political choice to cut out other areas suffering from the downturn in the oil sector, such asEdmonton or Atlantic Canada.

"The fact is, we can be reassured that we are making decisions based on evidence and not on popularity or political convenience,"Trudeausaid in Edmonton earlier this week, while also promising that Ottawa would monitor the situation.

Justin Trudeau on EI changes

9 years ago

Duration 2:04

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promises that changes to the employment insurance program will help the people hit hardest by the economic downturn

The 12 regions sharewhat federal Finance Minister Bill Morneaucalled"sharp increases in unemployment that have been sustained," or what the budget describes as a two per cent increase in unemployment rates over a three-month period over the last year "without showing significant signs of recovery."

Gray said she and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley have tried, unsuccessfully, to get more information about how the changes to the program will be assessed and reviewed.

"It's been a little frustrating, because the clarity as to when this will be re-evaluated hasn't come through. Because if it's re-evaluated a year from now, that's not going to work.I'd really like to see that clarity right away," she said.

The House8:11Where to draw the line on Employment Insurance?

With Justin Trudeau facing some pointed criticism for his government's decision to boost EI benefits for parts of the country and not other hard-hit areas, we talk to Alberta's Minister of Labour, Christina Gray, about her concerns.

Gray said she plans to continue to press her federal counterpart, because she was "disappointed and concerned" to see Edmonton excluded in the first place.

"We've been asking. If they are going to re-evaluate, is that something that will happen in real time, month by month as unemployment numbers come in? Or is that something happening a year from now?"

The new system, designed to last about ayear, begins in July and is retroactive to January 2015.