Because of changes made to unemployment insurance regulations by
the federal Liberals after they came to power in 1993, the total
of UI payments made in 1996 was lower than in 1995, even though
the number of people unemployed remained the same or went up in
1996.
According to Statistics Canada, in 1996, Canadians were paid
$13.1 billion (unadjusted) in employment insurance payments,
including regular and special benefits, down 5% from 1995. It
says that "benefit payments have declined 32.3% since 1992, when
a record $19.3 billion was paid." Regular benefit payments
"declined 13.2% in December after remaining flat for the previous
six months. This decline was led by Ontario (-17.9 %) and Quebec
(-12.2%)."
Today, Unemployment Insurance (UI) is called Employment
Insurance (EI) even though there is no assurance of employment.
According to StatsCan, "the number of Canadians who received
regular employment insurance benefits declined by 3.1% in
December, the third consecutive monthly decline. Declines were
recorded in all provinces and territories except New Brunswick
and Prince Edward Island. During the past year the number of
beneficiaries has trended downward, reaching levels not seen
since the early 1980s."Beneficiaries Receiving Regular Benefits
November to December 1996 (seasonally adjusted)
Beneficiaries % change
Canada 659,640 -3.1
Newfoundland 37,990 -0.4
Prince Edward Island 9,940 2.3
Nova Scotia 34,970 -0.7
New Brunswick 41,110 0.1
Quebec 225,490 -3.2
Ontario 170,630 -3.0
Manitoba 15,500 -6.9
Saskatchewan 11,120 -12.5
Alberta 36,940 -7.9
British Columbia 72,330 -4.1
Yukon 1,070 -9.0
Northwest Territories 1,260 -5.7
In December, the number of people who applied for employment
insurance benefits declined 7.7% to 220,000, led by Ontario
(-15.5 %). In terms of 1996 as a whole, StasCan says that from
May 1994 to April 1996, "a slow but consistently increasing trend
in claims was recorded. Since then claims have fallen. On an
unadjusted basis, 3.0 million people submitted claims in 1996, a
3.8% decline from 1995."
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
