By Gil McGowan, AFL Staff

EDMONTON -- The number of unemployed Albertans who qualify to receive Employment Insurance benefits has dropped to an all-time low, says a report released last month by the federal Human Resources Department (HRD).

As a result of changes to the unemployment insurance system made over the past two years, less than one third (32 percent) of unemployed Albertans are now eligible for EI benefits.

On the national level, only 40 percent of unemployed Canadians qualify for benefits – that's down from 62 per cent in 1994 and 87 per cent in 1990.

Ontario is the only province with a lower proportion of unemployed workers collecting EI than Alberta. In Ontario, only 29 per cent of the unemployed receive EI cheques.

"When you look at the numbers, it becomes clear that unemployed Canadians are being abandoned by the EI system," says Audrey Cormack, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL).

"The unemployment insurance system was established to help both individuals and communities weather economic downturns and bouts of unemployment. Unfortunately, as a result of all the cuts to EI imposed by the federal Liberals over the past few years, EI is no longer there for Canadians when they need it."

The main reason that fewer and fewer unemployed Canadians are getting assistance from the EI fund is that the federal government has substantially increased the number of hours people have to work in order to qualify for benefits.

Before the government overhauled the unemployment insurance system in 1996, workers in Alberta needed to work a minimum of 18 weeks at 15 hours per week to qualify for benefits. That translates into about 270 hours of work. But under the new EI system, workers in Alberta now need a minimum of 630 hours of work to qualify.

The hurdles faced by young workers who have lost their jobs are even higher. Under the old system, new entrants to the job market in Alberta had to work a minimum of 20 weeks at 15 hours per week in order to qualify for benefits. That translates into 300 hours of work. But under the new system, new workers have to work at least 910 hours.

"As a result of these changes, literally thousands of unemployed Albertans have been denied benefits," says Cormack. "The situation is particularly bleak for young workers and women, who make up the majority of part-time workers. They're just not working enough hours to qualify for benefits under the new system."

Cormack and other labour leaders say the declining accessibility of the EI system is especially galling given that the federal government has built up a $20 billion surplus in the EI fund over the past four years.

Finance Minister Paul Martin has been using this surplus to help pay-down the federal government's debt – and, despite complaints from unions and the unemployed, Martin says he will continue using the surplus for that purpose.

"Mr. Martin should be ashamed of himself," says Cormack. "He's balancing his books on the backs of some of our most vulnerable citizens. Instead writing cheques to banks and other financial institutions, Martin should be spending the EI surplus on unemployed Canadians in the form of increased and more accessible benefits. That's what the money was collected for – and that's the way it should be used."