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Jim Bennett, Leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, says
income earned by sealers should be treated as insurable income by the
federal government. Earnings made by sealers from the annual seal hunt
currently do not qualify as insurable income for employment insurance (EI)
purposes. Even though these individuals can make thousands of dollars
sealing, and pay income tax on those earnings, the federal government does
not recognize these weeks of work and do not include them when calculating
EI benefits.
"For reasons only known by the Department of Human Resources Development
Canada (HRDC) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, sealing income is
not considered insurable by the federal government," said Mr. Bennett.
"There is no concrete rationale why sealing income is not given the same
consideration or treatment as fishery income.
"The sealing industry has been pushing for quite some time to have their
income included as insurable earnings. With a change in the federal
government, and a new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans from this province, I
am hopeful that these changes will take place and the sealing industry will
finally be treated fairly.
"With the amount of attention that has been paid to the seal fishery in
the past few weeks, and the decline being experienced in other sectors such
as crab, now would be an ideal opportunity for the federal government to
show their commitment to our fishery. I am calling on Minister Hearn to
bring this initiative to cabinet and ensure our sealers have a voice in
Ottawa."
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