Navigating an employment insurance (EI) application is becoming increasingly difficult for many Canadians, after Service Canada shut down all its in-person centres on Thursday.
One of those Canadians is Saskatoon resident Jesse Wicks, who applied for EI over three weeks ago following a medical leave on March 7. He has yet to get paid.
Wicks learned first-hand how difficult it is to process a claim without any centres open.
After accidentally filing out his application incorrectly he was directed to contact Service Canada either in person or by phone to fix the issue.
But with nearly a million Canadians applying for EI in the last week alone, a phone call wasn’t so simple.
“I spent days trying to get a hold of Service Canada but I was put on hold, or the call was dropped, or there was dead air,” Wicks said. “I had no such luck.”
Eventually, Wicks was able to get through. It took less than two minutes to resolve the mistake made on his application.
With his application finally submitted, Wicks must now wait up to 28 days to get approved.
“For me, with a family, it’s disheartening knowing we can’t get the funds we need to survive,” Wicks said.
He’s sharing his story to raise awareness of the difficulties of applying for EI as the economy faces a downturn from the coronavirus pandemic.
He’s calling on Service Canada to hire more operators to deal with the increase in demand. He’s also calling for the phone service to be available 24/7 during the pandemic.
Between March 16 and March 22, 929,000 jobless claims were filed.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters the government is working hard to process everyone’s claim quickly.
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“I know people are anxious to get the help they deserve, and our government is working as fast as possible to support them. This is, of course, an unprecedented situation, and it’s putting a lot of pressure on our system but we’re on it,” Trudeau said. “Thousands of public servants are working around the clock to help you.”
On March 18, the federal government unveiled an $82-billion financial rescue package, including $27 billion in direct financial aid to households and businesses.
Emergency measures approved so far include extending unemployment benefits to those who don’t qualify for EI, expanding coverage to those who must self-isolate and aren’t eligible for EI sickness benefits, and income support for parents who are unable to earn income while schools are closed as a result of child-care duties.
— With files from Erica Alini.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. All international travellers returning to Saskatchewan are required to self-isolate for 14 days in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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