Michael Ignatieff, the newly confirmed leader of the federal Liberal party, announced at a news conference that his party would, in the short term, "push hard for a temporary loosening of rules to provide EI benefits for anyone who has worked at least 360 hours in the previous year." Depending on the unemployment rate, the threshold currently is as high as 700 hours and as low as 420 hours.
According to this news report, "The EI measure is expected to cost more than $1 billion a year - the amount the Toronto Dominion Bank has estimated it would cost to reduce eligibility to 420 hours across the board." Indeed, for Mr. Ignatieff, should the Conservative government fail to fall in line on EI reform, "then we'll have to have an election."
Check out Mr. Ignatieff's blog.
