New measures raise EI benefits in poor regions.

OTTAWA -- Approximately 300 million dollars in new measures aimed at enhancing the Employment Insurance program will benefit more than 220,000 Canadian workers annually stated Lucienne Robillard, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

The new measures include three pilot projects in regions of high unemployment (10 percent or higher), that will test the labour market impact of:

* enabling individuals new to the labour market or returning after an extended absence to access EI benefits after 840 hours of work (rather than 910) when linked with EI employment programs;

* calculating EI benefits based on the "best 14 weeks" of earnings over the 52 weeks preceding a claim for benefits, which benefit individuals with sporadic work patterns, and

* raising the working-while-on-claim threshold to allow individuals to earn the greater of $75 or 40 percent of benefits to encourage people to take work without a reduction in their benefits.

The pilot project introduced last year providing workers with five additional weeks of EI regular benefits in regions of high unemployment will be continued for a second year. The pilot project is designed to help address the annual income gap faced by workers with limited work alternatives.

EI "transitional boundaries" provisions in the EI economic regions of Madawaska-Charlotte, New Brunswick, and Lower St. Lawrence/North Shore, Quebec will be extended an additional year to October 2006. Meanwhile, a review of the EI economic regions will be conducted during this period.

The 2005 premium rate will be raised to $1.95 for workers and to $2.73 for employers.

A House of Commons committee has adopted an NDP motion to establish a new standard of 360 hours to qualify for UI benefits (now 420 to 700 hours).

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