Upcoming closures at two northern sawmills have Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach calling for changes to Employment Insurance.
Last week, Canfor announced a restructuring of their operations planned to take effect in April.
It includes the permanent closure of their Chetwynd sawmill, and an indefinite suspension of operations in Houston, while they await an investment decision.
Combined, those closures will result in the loss of over 400 jobs, which Bachrach says will have a long-lasting impact on the forestry-dependent communities.
He is calling for the Federal government to support workers by reinstating temporary changes made to the EI program during the pandemic.
Those changes include: shortening the 420-hour entrance requirement, and ensuring negotiated one-time benefits, such as severance, don’t restrict EI qualifications.
Bachrach says the same benefits should be applied to the mill workers, at least until the government can fix what he calls a broken system.
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