Finley won’t entertain giving up federal control of EI, despite PQ victory

OTTAWA – The federal minister who will likely be the first to face any separatist pressure from Quebec’s new government has already determined her approach: stay the course.

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley oversees employment insurance and the very social transfers that the Parti Quebecois wants to control.

But in an interview Wednesday morning, Finley rejected any suggestions of changing the way EI is managed, pointing instead to the ways Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has made the program more flexible to respond to provincial demands.

Finley’s comments add some detail to a statement issued Tuesday night from Prime Minister Harper, in which he vows to shun constitutional battles in favour of a more practical focus on jobs and the economy while appealing to Quebec to find common ground with Ottawa.

Finley says she and her government will focus squarely on getting people back to work and strengthening the job market — an approach that she says should appeal to anyone concerned about the fragile global economy.

As a case in point, Finley pointed to the new programming for youth employment that she announced this morning in Halifax.