Canadians Able to Keep More Earnings While on Claim With Further EI improvements

Ottawa, ON—The Government of Canada is launching a new, national Employment Insurance (EI) pilot project starting August 5,2012. Dave MacKenzie, Member of Parliament for Oxford, is pleased to make this announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources.

“Our government’s top priorities are job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity for Canadians,” said MP MacKenzie. “This new pilot project will let EI claimants keep more of what they earn, ensuring they always benefit from accepting available work.”

Through Economic Action Plan 2012, the Government of Canada is introducing a new, national EI pilot project, Working While on Claim. The pilot project increases the incentive for claimants to accept available jobs by allowing them to keep more of what they earn while on EI, as benefits are only reduced by 50 percent of total earnings from working while on claim.

The Working While on Claim pilot is one of many recent improvements the Government of Canada has made to the EI program. This past spring, the Government announced several targeted, common–sense changes to encourage Canadians to stay active in the job market and to remove disincentives to work. These changes include better connecting Canadians to available opportunities in their local area, clarifying their responsibilities while collecting EI, and establishing a new pan–Canadian approach for calculating EI benefits so that those living in regions with comparable labour market conditions receive similar benefits.

More information is available online at www.actionplan.gc.ca.

 For more information, contact:

Marian Ngo Office of Minister Finley 819-994-2482

Media Relations Office Human Resources and Skills Development Canada 819-994-5559Follow us on Twitter