[1]Jessie Forsythe is one of the many people that will be making the transition from CERB to EI at the end of September.
By Laural Samson [2]
TRENTON – With Canada’s Emergency Recovery Benefit (CERB) [3] end date just around the corner, many Canadians are left wondering what will happen next.
Jessie Forsythe, one of the first people to have their EI application transition to CERB in April, said that she hasn’t had much luck finding a job now that CERB is ending.
“It’s hard. There’s not a lot around here,” she said. “It’s all factory work unless you can travel,” said the 23-year-old Trenton resident.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in March, the Canadian government responded to people losing their jobs due to the lockdown. On April. 6, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced the CERB benefit, which would see applicants receive up to $2000 a month in financial support.
However, the federal government announced on Aug. 20 that while CERB would be extended another month, it will transition into Employment Insurance (EI) [4] when it ends at the end of September.
Before the pandemic, not finding a job would have meant registering and receiving Employment Insurance.
With CERB ending and the COVID-19 pandemic not yet over, the Liberal government is transitioning back to EI to help those that still cannot find work.
Forsythe had to leave her job at Trenton’s Seasons Retirement home in March because she couldn’t risk catching and transmitting COVID-19 to any of her elderly family.
But after being on CERB for the last seven periods, Forsythe said that while she’ll manage on EI she isn’t sure about how other people will do it.
“Not everybody’s been on EI before but have gone on to CERB, so it may be a bit of an adjustment.”
However, the impact of transitioning from CERB to EI could have serious repercussions for those that relied on both, according to a member of the Poverty Roundtable Hastings Prince Edward.
Deirdre McDade says that CERB ending will make things difficult for people who don’t qualify for EI.
“There’s a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives [5] that estimate that 2.7 million people will be worse off when CERB ends. We know that lots of people won’t have the hours for EI or won’t be eligible,” McDade said.
McDade says that CERB has revealed that the government does have the means and the money to give people a liveable wage that is higher than EI.
“The basic problem is that they don’t have enough income to live on.” McDade said about the people that will receive EI but still be struggling. “And the community response to that is that people need more money to live on.”
However, in a statement provided to QNet News, Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis says the Canadian government has established a more comprehensive EI program that CERB applicants can transition to.
“For the EI program, more Canadians will qualify to receive a minimum of $400 per week for at least 26 weeks.” MP Ellis said in the statement.
He also said that along with a more flexible EI program, three other recovery benefits have also been proposed.
“The three new income-support benefits will also support workers that are unable to work and are not eligible for EI, are sick or self-isolating or need to provide care or support for a sick child, family member, or dependant.” MP Ellis stated.
And even with the introduction of these programs, MP Ellis stated that the federal government will continue to look at every option to best support Canadians when CERB ends.
“We will continue to do whatever it takes to make sure Canadians have the most appropriate measures in place so that we’re best positioned to make economic gains, going forward.”
But McDade remains unconvinced. When talking about the transition from CERB to EI, McDade said that there are a lot of people that will fall through the cracks when the end of September, and CERB, comes.
“October’s going to be a really tough month.”