Oilfield workers who have lost well-paying jobs in Saskatchewan and are faced with finding money to cover their mortgages and bills for the indefinite future have absolutely no reason to be “happy” that their Employment Insurance benefits will be for a shorter period than in regions of Canada with higher rates of unemployment.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose budget last week boosted EI benefits in 12 regions with a high jobless rate, but left out parts of southern Saskatchewan that employ about two-thirds of its oilpatch workers, suggested this week in an interview that: “I think that both people in Edmonton and Saskatchewan should be pleased that they are not hit as hard as other parts of the country and indeed the province have been.”
Premier Brad Wall has rightly noted that while he gives the federal government credit for extending EI benefits by five weeks for workers in some hard-hit areas such as Lloydminster (20 weeks for long-term workers without a long claims history), he doesn’t understand why the two other main areas of the province’s oil sector were missed.
“Why in the world would they exclude southwestern Saskatchewan, southeastern Saskatchewan, and why then would anyone say, ‘You should be happy about that?’ We’re not happy about that.”
The rationale that oilfield workers are a transient bunch who will move to where jobs are available, and thus don’t need the benefits for as long, doesn’t quite cut it.
The oil boom that has fuelled the economies of Saskatchewan, Alberta and indeed Canada, lasted about a decade. Workers bought homes and settled to raise families in communities such as Estevan, Weyburn and Swift Current, which in turn expanded with businesses that provide support services. In the current economy, skilled and mobile tradespeople face a challenge, and those in service industries are being laid off.
Let’s hope Trudeau’s commitment to “review and monitor” the government’s revamped EI program comes with a pledge to respond quickly when premiers such as Wall and Rachel Notley in Alberta make a legitimate case for areas of their provinces where rising unemployment leaves families in dire straits. Indeed, we trust Saskatchewan cabinet minister Ralph Goodale will speak up loud and clear for Saskatchewan oil workers who’ve been left behind.
EI is funded jointly by employer-employee contributions, but the scheme’s politically dictated rules often leave tens of thousands of jobless Canadians without benefits. The Trudeau government’s EI changes are only the latest for a program that would work better if it was at arm’s-length from politicians. Jobless workers don’t need to hear they should be “happy” because others are even worse off.
