Farmers skeptical of EI changes
Thursday, November 5, 2009
By PATRICIA GROTENHUIS
More details are needed about proposed federal changes to employment insurance before it’s known whether it will benefit those involved in agriculture, observe three farmers in western Ontario.
The bill proposes to extend employment insurance benefits to the self-employed by January 1, 2011. It was announced Tuesday.
If passed, the legislation would allow the self employed to claim benefits such as maternity (15 weeks), parental (35 weeks), sickness (15 weeks) or compassionate care (six weeks) after a year of paying premiums. They would not be able to claim benefits for either job loss or a season where there is no work available.
“I question it myself, because I don’t know how it would work and I don’t know how much we’ll pay,” says George Dickenson, 51, a dairy farmer from Sarnia.
Dickenson wonders if it would make more sense to have privatized employment insurance for self-employed workers similar to private health plans. Protection could be customized to suit different needs, giving a variety of options and rates.
Scott Dirksen, a 26 year old cash-crop farmer from Harriston, feels it would be nice to have protection if something happened, but wants more information to make a final decision.
“In one way it makes sense because we’re working just like everybody else, but it would be very hard to regulate and there would always be some work for us to do,” Dirksen says.
Dirksen sees the value in the legislation in certain situations, but points out that when running a business, even if you are on leave, there would be issues to deal with and management decisions to be made.
Matt Dann, a 24-year-old dairy farmer from Harriston, feels the added cost to farmers will make up many people’s minds.
“If I got hurt I may wish I had it, but at this point I don’t think I would pay into it; it’s not a big enough benefit,” says Dann.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture has also wants more details. “We need to see the numbers on premiums and benefits at various age ranges before we could recommend this to our members,” says Bette Jean Crews, the federation’s president, in a news release. BF