EI programs under review: Flaherty

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he's not closing the door on extending some employment insurance programs now under review. 

In an interview broadcast Saturday morning on CBC Radio's The House, Flaherty was asked about a few EI initiatives scheduled to end soon. Among them is a program set to expire later this month that allows people to claim benefits based on their best 14 weeks of earning over a year-long period, as opposed to a 26-week period.

Two other pilot projects are set to end in December. One project makes it easier for people re-entering the labour force to collect EI, and the allows people to earn more money while collecting EI — 40 per cent of the EI benefit rate, compared with 25 per cent.

"Well, they're being reviewed; I'll leave it at that for now," Flaherty said from Washington, D.C., where he's attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Flaherty's decisions about the EI pilot projects will be closely analyzed, given what's being broadly described as the fragile and uncertain state of Canada's economic recovery. There is speculation the Conservative government could table its fall economic update as early as next week.

Economic growth 'on track'

Flaherty wouldn't say exactly when he will present the update but promised Canadians will soon hear more about the government's figures.

"We have to make sure we deal pragmatically with the degree of economic growth that we have," Flaherty said. "Fortunately, we're on track and I'll do the fall economic update soon, and I'll be able to present all of the numbers so that Canadians can see that we are on track."

Flaherty announced in late September that he would scale back a planned increase in employment insurance premiums in response to consultations with the business community. Business groups argued the hike recommended by an independent panel and planned for January could cost 170,000 jobs by making hiring more expensive.  

The finance minister froze EI premiums in his 2009 budget as part of the Conservative government's economic stimulus package.  

Meanwhile, enough Liberals, including their leader, Michael Ignatieff, were absent from the House of Commons to ensure a recent bid by the Bloc Québécois to enrich EI benefits was defeated, even though Ignatieff threatened an election over the issue just a year ago.

Ignatieff said the proposals made sense when the country was in the midst of an economic crisis and the unemployment rate had spiked, but are "not fiscally responsible" now.