Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Harper: EI House Calls Necessary To Stop Fraud

SASKATOON - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says hundreds of millions of dollars are lost through false or inappropriate employment insurance claims and the federal government wants to curb that.

Federal workers are now visiting employment insurance recipients at home, the prime minister confirmed Thursday in response to a report from The Canadian Press.

He said Human Resources Development Canada must ensure that money for EI is there for people who qualify.

He confirmed the report that public servants have been making unannounced visits since January as part of an examination being conducted while the EI program is overhauled.

During those visits federal employees have been hand-delivering questionnaires and requests for people to appear at their regular EI interviews.

Harper made the comment while in Saskatoon for an unrelated announcement.

About 1,200 EI beneficiaries will be receiving the visits, through the end of next month. A group of 50 federal civil servants have been assigned to make the house calls.

A federal workers' union representative has told The Canadian Press that she had already been concerned for government employees because of the controversy over EI changes.

From now on, people who frequently claim EI are expected to accept any job for which they're qualified, within 100 kilometres of home, as long as the pay is 70 per cent of their previous salary.

They must also prove they're actively seeking work.

Opponents say the plan is particularly harsh on Atlantic Canada and Quebec, which have a number of seasonal industries.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca
Author: AP

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