General

Job market takes a hit and EI talks flounder

Could a fall election be coming our way?

The numbers are in. During the month of July, Canada lost 45,000 jobs. And that’s a lot more than most economists were predicting. “The expectation after losses of 7,400 jobs in June was that it would be double to about 15,000.” Said BNN’s Michael Kane. “So to have it come in at more than double the expectation at 44,500, that was a major event.” The Statistics Canada report, released Friday, said that the construction and hotel industries were especially hard hit.

All in all, it’s certainly a bad time for Canadian politicians to be bickering about employment insurance. On the same day that the jobs report was released, Liberals were causing a ruckus in Ottawa—accusing Harper Conservatives of holding back talks on EI reform. Liberals say that at a Thursday meeting of the special bipartisan group set up to study the issue, Harper Conservatives failed to contribute a single pragmatic idea. Described as “tense” by Liberal MP Mike Savage, the meeting is being lauded by Ignatieff’s team as a good reason to bring about a fall election. The Liberals are asking for a temporary $1.5-billion a year plan to help Canadians through the recession. Looks like they’ll need it—now more than ever.

CTV News

The Globe and Mail

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
FILED UNDER: