A new report says Canada's Employment Insurance system excludes many, discriminates based on region of residence and limits many unemployed workers from achieving their potential.
Those are just a few of the widely recognized but "deep problems" at the core of the system intended to serve as a safety net for those who lose their jobs, while at the same time preparing them for re-entry to the workforce.
The report from the Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto calls for "transformative change" to a system that has become outdated and is too complex and opaque and which many people struggle to navigate successfully.
"At the core of our recommendations is a belief that a new national framework is required, one that is more transparent, effective, and equitable," states the report, which was co-chaired by former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow.
"We have come to this conclusion because of the failure of the current program to keep up with a variety of societal and economic changes."
The report found only 46 per cent of Canada's unemployed received EI benefits last year, compared with 86 per cent in 1981.
It also criticized the system as unfair, pointing out that someone who worked for 20 years in a declining sector, and is therefore less likely to find a new job, receives roughly the same benefits as someone who loses their job after just one year of employment.
The report also pointed out that EI is the only federal program that uses region of residence as a major criteria for determining benefits.
"Other important federal social programs, like Old Age Security and the National Child Benefit, treat Canadians equally regardless of region of residence," the report states.
The report includes 18 recommendations, from the introduction of a standardized, single entrance requirement for all workers across Canada, to the expansion of benefits such as work-sharing, during recession.
The report also calls on the EI system to "treat temporary foreign workers fairly," to provide greater funding for training for people already working, and to enable people on EI to pursue skills development while still receiving benefits.
The report also wants the government to offer parental benefits recipients with a choice between higher benefits over a shorter period, or lower benefits over a longer period.
The report outlines some of the dramatic changes that have taken place in Canada's workforce in recent years.
For example, the report states that since 1976 the number of multiple jobholders has increased by 150 per cent, the number of part-time jobholders has increased by 55 per cent, and self-employment has increased by 29 per cent.
"The current EI system was not designed to serve individuals in these growing segments of the labour market," the report states.
And while the system is meant to help those transitioning to new work after a job loss during times of economic stability, and during brief periods of economic instability, it comes up short in helping people dealing with structural declines in their industries.
The system also isn't designed to be effective during longer periods of economic slowdown, such as a recession.
"The program is no longer consistent with the objectives of a modern income support program for the unemployed. Overall, the system's design cannot be defended on a principled basis," the report states.
