One NDP MP calls Tory plan ‘a first start’
After pressure from opposition parties to reform Employment Insurance, the Conservatives announced today its intention to extend benefits by up to 20 weeks for workers who have been employed for seven of the last 10 years. But it remains to be seen whether the initiative will be sufficient to get the NDP on side, and prevent the Liberals from triggering an election in a hotly anticipated confidence vote, which could prompt an election. Though the party has yet to study the details of the proposal, NDP MP Paul Dewar called it “a first start.”