Employment Insurance

NDP Dept: The national online survey was conducted in the wake of the government's controversial omnibus budget implementation bill, which included changes to Employment Insurance to set new criteria for suitable employment for people making EI claims. The changes mean people who make more frequent or longer-running claims will have to consider increasingly lower-paying jobs or have their EI payments cut off, according to CBC. The survey asked which federal party is most sensitive to the needs of different constituencies. When asked about the needs of the unemployed, 32.9 of respondents said the NDP was most sensitive, with 14.3 per cent picking the Conservatives and just 10.8 picking the Liberals. Fourteen-and-a-half per cent said none of the parties, while 23.5 per cent were unsure and the NDP is seen as the party most sensitive the needs of the unemployed but is also not far behind the Conservatives when it comes to small business, according to a Nanos survey for News Network's Power a Politics . The changes also introduce new job alerts to let claimants know about job vacancies in their area. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.