(Ottawa and Montreal) Evacuees can apply for employment insurance to compensate for their loss of income. An emergency management response group has been set up by Employment and Social Development Canada to help citizens affected by the forest fires.
“If you are a worker affected by the wildfires, I strongly encourage you to apply for Employment Insurance benefits online, by phone or in person as soon as possible. Even if you do not have your record of employment, your request will be given priority,” said Minister Karina Gould at a press conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday.
Mobile Service Canada teams are deployed to evacuation centers to help people complete their applications. At the time these lines were written, the ministry was not able to indicate if this was the case in Roberval, which hosts the 7,500 citizens of Chibougamau who had to be evacuated last night.
“This includes being flexible to enable faster access to benefits and delivering benefits and services as quickly as possible through direct deposit using eService Canada and mobile services,” added Ms.me Gould.
The federal minister also invited people to register for direct deposit on the Service Canada site, given that the postal service could be disrupted due to the forest fires.
“An agent will call you within two business days,” she promised. Claims for benefits can be made online or by phone at 1-877-631-2657.
“What does the government intend to do? »
In Montreal, the National Council of the unemployed (CNC), he was deeply concerned Wednesday about the consequences of the crisis of forest fires on workers. The group calls for the establishment of “special measures” for the workers affected. The CNC also wants more broadly a complete reform of the employment insurance program.
“It takes crisis action. That doesn’t mean that we’re driving everyone crazy, but my god, do something, because here we’re telling people to apply for unemployment to which they won’t be entitled, “explains to The Press Council spokesman Pierre Céré.
He recalls that the crisis “particularly affects workers in seasonal industries, who have, in many cases, already exhausted their employment insurance benefits”. “What does the government intend to do? “, insists Mr. Céré.
According to him, the projections for this summer are “not reassuring, as the work periods of several industries such as tourism or forestry will likely be shortened”. “Several seasonal employees who applied for unemployment last year had a shortened benefit period. Even for the most part, it’s over by the time we talk to each other, ”notes Mr. Céré.
“We constantly repeat that employment insurance reform is needed, that following COVID-19, the government should not wait for the next crisis. If you had listened to us and implemented your commitments to reform employment insurance, we would not be asking these questions today. How many more years will we have to wait? “, also hammers the spokesperson.