Employment in Alberta has taken a hammering since the global economic crisis struck. But, just when more and more people need Employment Insurance (EI), they are finding that it isn't delivering on its promise.

Figures released by Statistics Canada in December, 2009, show there are 85,000 more unemployed people in Alberta than one year before. In other words, both the unemployment rate and the absolute number of unemployed people have more than doubled over the last year. No other province has seen such a dramatic spike in unemployment in such a short time.

Unemployment in the province has doubled since the recession struck in the fall of 2008, from 3.7% to 7.4% - from78,300 to more than 150,000.

But the federal government's complicated EI regulations mean that the number of hours required to qualify for EI benefits is determined by regional unemployment rates. So, because the spike in unemployment rates in Alberta comes on the heels of a boom with historically high employment rates, Albertans have to work more hours to qualify than other Canadians. This means that fewer than 40% of the unemployed in this province are receiving benefits - the lowest percentage in Canada.

Significant changes must be made to EI to make it into the insurance plan is should be - one that protects those workers who pay into it from suffering the temporary deprivations that come with layoffs.

Summary

Just like everywhere else in Canada, workers in Alberta pay into the EI system. But, through no fault of their own, if those Albertans lose their jobs, they are less likely to be able to collect benefits.

The federal government's rules for EI mean that the number of hours a person needs to have worked to qualify varies from region to region. Because Alberta went through a boom, with a period of high employment rates, just before the global recession took hold, Albertans have to have worked more hours to qualify for benefits that other Canadians. In Calgary and Edmonton, you must have worked 665 hours in the previous 52 weeks to qualify, compared with 560 hours in Toronto and Montreal or 420 hours in Windsor or rural Newfoundland.

As of June, 2009, only 39.73% of the unemployed in this province were receiving benefits, the lowest rate in Canada. The figure for B.C. was 49.5% and in Saskatchewan it was 54.94%.

If you are a young unemployed worker in Alberta, the situation is even worse, because many do not meet the high qualifying criteria for new entrants. In July, 2009, 49,400 people under 25 years old were unemployed, but only 7,690 (15.6%) qualified for EI benefits.

If that wasn't enough, Albertans have to wait longer than other Canadian to receive benefits if they qualify. Because this province had a low unemployment rate over the past several years, the sudden flood of EI claimants when the recession struck overwhelmed EI offices and meant it was taking an average of 10 weeks before people could begin to collect their benefits.

As well as having to work the longest hours to qualify, and having to wait longer for the benefits to start flowing, Albertans are able to collect benefits for a shorter period than other Canadians. The maximum number of weeks that Albertans can claim EI benefits is 43 weeks, compared to up to 50 weeks in other parts of the country.

Because Alberta's economy has not yet started to rebound significantly, many Albertans face the prospect of exhausting their benefits and having to turn to welfare to support their families before they find new jobs. According to the Alberta government, nearly 35,000 were collecting welfare in June, 2009, the highest number in more than a decade.

It's clear from this that Canada's EI system if failing to deliver on its promise. Too many who pay into the system aren't covered when they need help. Canada's EI system ranks last among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in income replacement. Our rate is less than half the OECD average and less than a quarter of the rates paid in Denmark and Belgium.

Economists believe that if the system were to be improved - improvements could be financed by the $57 billion surplus accumulated in the EI fund over the last 10 years - it would act as a stimulus to the help boost the economy.

The AFL believes the federal government should implement changes to the Employment Insurance Act that ensure equal treatment for all Canadians by:

• Ensuring access to regular EI benefits on the basis of 360 hours of work, no matter where workers live;
• Raising benefits immediately to 60% of earnings calculated on a worker's best 12 weeks;
• Increasing the period for which benefits can be collected to a maximum of two years;
• Eliminating the two-week waiting period before EI benefits begin; and
• Increasing funds for active training support for unemployed workers.