Contentious changes to employment insurance come into effect Sunday

OTTAWA – Contentious changes to employment insurance are now in effect.

Beginning Sunday, people on EI face stricter, more complex rules for keeping their benefits, with the goal of getting unemployed workers back into the workforce sooner.

To help people get back to work, the government has also launched a new service to provide information on available jobs and labour market conditions to subscribers via email.

The changes to the EI program clarified the definitions for what it means to be searching for a suitable job.

The search includes preparing resumes, registering for job banks, attending job fairs, applying for jobs and undergoing competency evaluations.

A suitable job is defined by factors including commuting time, whether the hours are compatible with the claimant’s life and wages.