With employment insurance premiums set to rise in the new year, both employers and workers are calling on the federal government to step in and rescue the program from the considerable amount of debt it has fallen into since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program, which is financed entirely through premiums paid by workers and employers, accumulated $25.9 billion of debt by the end of 2021, according to the Office of the Chief Actuary. Read more: EI program to scrap COVID-era changes next month, worrying some workers The rise in debt comes after a staggering number of Canadians were unemployed during the pandemic and eligibility rules for the program were relaxed to ease access to jobless benefits.
Since then, the labour market has bounced back and temporary changes to the EI program have been reversed. However, the question that lingers is: who should pick up the tab on the accumulated debt?
Employers and workers are hoping the federal government will. “The current deficit happened because of the pandemic, and it is not the fault of any employee and it’s not the fault of any employer,” said Jasmin Guenette, vice-president of national affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.