Conservative Budget: Alarm

EI Dept: Last month s Conservative budget sparked alarm by indicating the Harper government wants to eliminate what it sees as abuse of the EI system but without explaining what the new rules would be, according to The Star. Sources have also suggested the government may tighten the procedures under which EI recipients attest that they are available and looking for work and oTTAWA Canadians receiving Employment Insurance benefits will be forced to be more flexible about what jobs they accept under a crackdown to be revealed Thursday by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley. In future, repeat EI recipients are expected to be required to accept jobs that pay as little as 70 per cent of their average income or are within a one-hour commute of their residence. Otherwise, they may forfeit their EI benefits. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.