Senator Pierrette Ringuette, Vice-Chair of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Seasonal Work recently has expressed her concerns in relation to the Task Force's report. On October 9, 2003 the Prime Minister's Task Force on Seasonal Work was established to assess the challenges facing seasonal industries, workers and the communities in which they live; assess existing resources and gaps; and provide advice on areas for possible action in the future. The Task Force could not reach a consensus on how to address the problems of the Employment Insurance System and the seasonal economies in general. Senator Ringuette, who disagrees with the Task Force recommendations, said:
"The Task Force's recommendations do not reflect the "distress" I witnessed across the country and the proposed recommendations certainly fall short of appeasing this alarming situation. Furthermore, the prognosis process has not been transparent and democratic."
Senator Ringuettte wants to ensure that all future uses of the Employment Insurance program would only be for the benefit of workers and not for any other purpose.
Given that Senator Ringuette has not been allowed to include her dissidence in the main report, she will be issuing a full dissident report on Monday December 13, 2004.