The president of the Windsor-Essex Food Bank Association says, ‘Canada needs a modern EI for a modern workforce.’
June Muir is echoing a call made in the latest Food Banks Canada poverty report, which says the labour market has shifted toward part-time, temporary, and contract work, while EI only caters to a shrinking workforce that has stable, full-time work with a single employer.
Muir says they are seeing a lot of people who are working, those on fixed incomes, and people receiving EI.
“There are so many people who are in need out there, and it’s different; it’s not like in the past. So many people are trying, but food costs have risen. People on EI aren’t able to survive; it’s just different. EI wasn’t really built for today’s workforce,” she says.
The irregular hours, multiple jobs, and contract work make qualifying for EI more difficult, even for those with consistent jobs, which, in turn, excludes many workers who face greater income instability.
Muir says the local food bank association had over 230,000 visits to its 15-member food banks in 2025, which included people on fixed incomes, families and working families, and those on employment insurance, as they have become a reality for many people.
Muir says she agrees with the assessment that the EI system needs to be updated.
“Too many people are not able to pay their rent, keep up with their utilities, we don’t want to see people become homeless. We got to make sure we’re there to help everyone and we’re calling on the government to deliver permanent structural reform to EI. One that expands access and improves benefit adequacy and reflects the realities of today’s labour market,” she says.
Muir says what’s really sad is that we see so many people in need that are collecting EI but can’t make ends meet.
“Just alone at the UHC Hub of Opportunities, we give out 300 hampers a day; that’s a lot. When we talk about a hamper, it’s full of all the essentials that a family would need. When you think of a hamper, you might not think it’s a lot of food, but it is. People are coming twice a month to our food bank, but there are 15 food banks throughout Windsor-Essex,” she says.
“The underlying system has not been fully modernized for decades,” the organization wrote in its 2026 Poverty Report Cards, released Monday. The report added, “EI is not consistently providing timely or adequate support when people need it most.”
The federal EI program needs to better accommodate irregular working schedules, gig workers, multiple jobs, and contract workers, the Food Banks Canada report argued. It’s also calling for a higher benefit floor-$450 per week-and extended benefits for people who are unable to find a new job when their EI expires.
EI is a federal program that bridges the financial gap for workers who are between jobs, paying about 55 per cent of the average insurable weekly earnings. That means someone with an annual income of $68,900 would receive a maximum of $729 in EI per week.
With files from the Canadian Press and CTV News