Of all the provinces, Alberta registered in the 2011 survey as having the largest proportion of workers – 7.6 per cent – who were living in a different province five years earlier.
As more young people leave the region for western opportunities, it’s only a matter of time before seasonal workers in Atlantic Canada follow suit, said Nova Scotia Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner.
“I’m nervous as hell,” said Cuzner, a vocal critic of federal employment insurance reform, which has sparked protests throughout the region. The changes, he argues, unfairly target Atlantic Canada’s seasonal workers, including fishermen.
The region’s premiers have also spoken out against the new rules, saying they were implemented in January without proper consultation.
Under some of the new measures, those who frequently claim EI need to prove they’re actively seeking work. Workers must also accept a job within 100 kilometres of their home as long as they are qualified and the pay is at least 70 per cent of their previous salary.
“Families are sitting down and going through this and wondering if they stay or if they pull up stakes,” said Cuzner.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor
via As skilled workers are lured west, some fear EI changes could make things worse | Globalnews.ca.
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