CFIB fights increases in EI premiums
Posted Nov 7, 2011 12:39 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is calling on the federal goverment not to boost employment insurance premiums.
The Harper Tories are planning to increase EI fees for both employers and employees beginning January 1st.
The CFIB’s Dan Kelly says with ongoing economic uncertainty, now is not the time to increase business costs.
“Small businesses are asking us to push the federal government to try to reduce the size of that increase, or eliminate that increase altogether,” Kelly tells 660News. “And that’s the message we’re giving the federal government today.”
In the CFIB’s opinion, an increase in premiums will stifle economic activity and job creation efforts.
“This is bad news, especially given that employers and employees over decades put in $57 billion, in surplus dollars, into the EI account that” (has) “basically been spent, frittered away over the last couple of decades by successive governments,” adds Kelly.
68 per cent of CFIB members feel extending the freeze on EI premiums is the best thing the federal goverment could do to offset the impact of the ongoing global economic uncertainty.
