Doug CoLLiIns

IT WAS TYPICAL of the Tories that they couldn’t bite the bullet on unemp!oyment insurance benefits. Instead, they continue to encourage scroungers to exploit the system. Plus those who are too lazy to move where the jobs are.

That’s why the pay-out has risen to nearly $43 billion a year, which is what the whole federal budget used to be as recently as 1968. True, about 70 per cent comes from contributions, but that only means that the bees are kecping the drones happy.

Example: why should anyone who deliberately quits a job be en- titled to UI? Under the new pro- posals it will still be possible to draw over $300 a week by quitting. Yes, there are to be greater penalties on those who decide they are tired of working, but drawing public money after quitting shouldn’t be allowed at all.

That’s not insurance. It's a scam on the taxpayer.

A few cuts in benefits have been introduced. Supposedly, these will wimount to a saving of half a hillion dollars. But instead of throwing that back into the kitty, Employment Minister Barbara McDougall wants to add long “aarental leave’’ provisions and time off for ‘‘sickness.”’ Up toa maximum of 30 wecks! The over- 65’s are to be brought into the UI bonanza too.

Outside of Sweden, there is no country as crazy as this one.

_ At has been a steady rot on the tax pot, this misnamed unemployment insurance.

The late Jimmy Sinclair of North Vancouver started it. As minister of fisheries, he got benefits for the fishermen, most of whom had more money than they knew what to do with anyway, having earned big dough in the salmon season. (Thanks very much, Jimmy. We're off to California for the winter!)

But the big march to Shangri-La began in 1971. That was when Labor Minister Bryce Mackasey doubled payments and let any Jayabout who wanted to quit work after eight weeks draw benefits for 42 weeks. The exploited workers cheered, and started taking UI ski holidays. Some even managed trips abroad, with friends signing the necessary papers for them. TA EEE

**...the job vacancy rate in Canada more than doubled after UI benefits were Uiberalized’ in 1971, And the number of ‘voluntary quits’ more than doubled — from 91,000 in 1970 to 255,000 in 1972." CAVERN ARTIT TESTA CCIE

The whole thing became a regu- lar pork barrel, as exemplified by the inclusion of 15 weeks’ materni- ty benefits, which also have nothing to do with unemployment insurance. That’s why the silly McDougall admits she has a selling job to do on her parental leave give-away.

The Forget Commission noted in 1986 that UI had become ‘‘a kind of guaranteed weekly income or temporary social assistance/ income maintenance plan for those who can find at least 10 weeks of work.”’ The system encouraged people to take short-term jobs. Ten weeks on, 42 off!

So it was really hilarious when the labor jeaders and the opposi- tion politicians set up a massive howling and yowling over McDougzll’s recent ‘‘cuts.’”

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Michael Walker of the Fraser Institute had a good point. Just before McDougall did her recent juggling act he had what he called a great idea: we could trim the federal budget by $4.4 billion and at the same time reduce the umemployment figures, he said.

All we had to do was to make this country’s unemployment in- surancé benefits twice as good as

hose that exist in the U.S.

If that were done, he explained, we would save $4.4 billion becai..c Canada’s UI benefits are now f9.1, times as generous as the ones down south. Also, if benefits weren’t so glorious, the unemployment totals would go down.

Why? Because in some arcas the generosity of the UI benefits create a jobless rate that’s two per cent higher than it would be otherwise. So says the Economic Council of Canada.

The better the benefits, the less work some folk will do. Which is only natural. To quote the Forget Commission again, the job vacan- cy rate in Canada more than doubled after UI benefits were “"iberalized’’ in 1971. And the number of ‘‘voluntary quits’? more than doubled — from 91,000 in 1970 to 255,000 in 1972.

With McDougall’s nutty new plan, we can expect more nonsense.

The days when Ottawa made sense are gone and almost forgot- ten, @

9 - Friday, April 22, 1989 - North Shore News

injury report tabled

SOLICITOR GENERAL Angus Ree recently presented the 1988 Annual Report of the Criminal In- jury Compensation Act in the pro- vincial legislature.

Ree stated that $6,300,797 was awarded in 1988 as compensation to crime victims or their depen- dents.

The 17th Annual Report, prepared by the Workers’ Com- pensation Board, indicates that of the 2,820 new applications received last year, 1,973 were allowed, 264 disallowed and the balance was ei- ther withdrawn or carried forward to 1989,

The 1988 awards resulted in peyment of $4,285,649 lump sum awards and a further $2,015,148 in periodic payments.

During 1988, applications were received from 222 centres in B.C. Vancouver had the highest number, 566; followed by Surrey, hs Victoria, 154; and Nanaimo,

Sexual offences continue to be the most common type of crime involved. Of the 1,973 awards granted, 708 invoived sexual of- fences; followed by 542 cases in- volving assault.

The act, administered by the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia on behalf of the Ministry of Solicitor General, came into effect July 1, 1972,

Since then a total of $39,529,949 has been paid out in a lump sum and periodic 2wards.

The act provides compc.sation when a person is injured or killed in the province as a result of any

one of 50 criminal offences covered under the act. ‘

Compensation is also provided if a person is injured or killed during the lawful arrest of, or an attempt to arrest, an offender or suspected offender, or while assisting a peace officer.

Application forms for Criminal Injury Compensation are available at all Workers’ Compensation Board offices in British Columbia.

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