Last weekend, Quebec unions and activists issued a joint statement on the appeals process in employment insurance, calling on Trudeau to review the appeals process. The 2012 budget removed part-time panels of three community representatives -- one labour, one business, and one government, and replaced them with full-time adjudicators working on their own. The joint statement contains some very good information about why we think the new appeals process isn't working, so I'm posting it here, in English.

Statement on challenging Employment Insurance decisions, Fall 2016

I presented at the Standing Committee on International Trade's incredibly brief review of the implementing legislation for CETA. With me were representatives from the Business Council of Canada, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Canadian Cattleman's Association. There are only two more meetings scheduled, and there are no IP experts, no pharmaceutical experts, no representatives from either our shipping industry or labour groups representing seafarers. There were no representatives from municipalities, even though CETA is the first deal to apply at that level of government, and more than 50 municipalities have asked to be carved out of the deal. This is hardly a shining example of how to govern inclusively, transparently, or progressively.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau has taken quite a bit of heat for his tone deaf comments about the reality of precarious work, specifically saying that we should just "get used to job churn." His policy prescription, an improved social safety net, is actually a valid part of the solution. But must we accept that the precarious will always be with us? That is, what can government actually do to address precarious work?

First of all, has the Finance Minister accurately understood the issue? There is a great deal of hubbub about precarious work; can it be reduced to simply "job churn"?

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On May 4, 2016, approximately 40 people attended the First Annual Canadian Homelessness Data Sharing Initiative, sponsored in Calgary by the Calgary Homeless Foundation and the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. Those attending included government officials, researchers and students. Here are 10 things to know about the event.

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On April 14, the Alberta government tabled its 2016-17 budget: Alberta Jobs Plan. Here are 10 things to know about it:

1. A new carbon tax (known as a "carbon levy") was announced.

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Every year, women around the world celebrate (angrily) the day their average full-time full-year earnings have caught up to men's average full-time full-year earnings from the year before.

This year in the United States that day fell on April 12. In Germany it was March 19. In Switzerland it was February 24.

In Ontario? Equal Pay Day* comes on April 19.

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The 2016 budget announces some much-needed improvements to employment insurance, and leaves room for more changes in the near future. The changes announced in the budget are largely positive, but many details are still missing, and some stinkers from Harper are left unchanged.

The good

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A coalition of community and labour organizations have come together to present their views on necessary EI reforms as part of the pre-budget process.

Joint community and labour statement on the 2016 Budget, stimulus and EI

We urge the government to act quickly and decisively to restore the integrity of Canada's EI social insurance system.

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