The New Brunswick Government called a meeting with student leaders last week to break the news that they are putting an end to New Brunswick’s EI Connect program, which allows students who earn enough hours to qualify for Employment Insurance to claim their benefits while attending university.

The news was something that Rohin Minocha-McKenney, president of the Mount Allison Students Union and chair of the board with the New Brunswick Student Alliance, didn’t see coming. “To say it was a massive surprise, I think would be an understatement,” says Minocha-McKenney. “Usually we would hear something [about what’s coming in advance], but this was out of the blue, without any consultation from students, and even without any time for students to react.”

Minocha-McKenney says the change in policy amounts to a cut in funding to about 7000 students, and “it was a decision that was made quickly and without consideration to students is what we’re hearing.”

In an emailed statement to CHMA news, Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour (PETL) spokesperson Geneviève Mallet-Chiasson says that the province is making the move in response to advice from the federal government, who said that the program is “not aligned with the intent of the EI program.”

Mallet-Chiasson confirmed the move is revenue neutral for the province. EI is funded through contributions of employees and employers, and neither the provincial nor federal governments contribute directy to it, except as employers. Mallet-Chiasson said the cancellation of the program would bring, “New Brunswick’s programming in line with what other provinces are doing.”

But Minocha-McKenney points out that both Nova Scotia and PEI have programs in place that sound very similar to NB’s soon-to-be-defunct program. Nova Scotia’s Fast Forward program offers to allow people to continue their EI claims while in university or other qualifying training programs, though it requires that applicants have been in the labour force for 24 months before their claim begins. The website of PEI’s Career Connect program says it offers people who qualify for EI “an opportunity to continue to receive those benefits while attending full-time post-secondary studies within Canada for the duration of their claim.”

In an emailed response to questions, Employment and Social Development Canada spokesperson Maja Stefanovska says that “the Government of Canada is not aware of other provincial student EI programs of this kind,” referring to the New Brunswick program.

Stefanovska would not say whether or not the federal government asked New Brunswick to kill the NB-EI Connect program, though she did say the decision was New Brunswick’s. She also pointed out that the federal government “works in continuous collaboration with the provinces” on the programs.

Though the province hasn’t cited it as a rationale, the editorial board at Brunswick News has published in support of the move by the province, claiming that the NB-EI Connect program “worsened the provincial labour shortage.”

Minocha-Mckenney says he’s heard the same theory, but thinks that ending access to EI might force students out of the province, not just back into the labour force.

“I was speaking with a student the other day, and they were on EI. They had that funding throughout the year. But now they’re saying that they can’t afford to take out any more student loans, they’re already maxed out, they don’t have any other financial options there. And they are now debating if they need to move back to Nova Scotia to do schooling there because of the funding opportunities that they have there,” says Minocha-McKenney.

Minocha-McKenney says he has heard from about 30 students concerned about the program cancellation so far, which he considers significant considering that school is not in session at Mount Allison. He says many are concerned about their financial situation going into the coming school year without access to EI, considering rising costs of food and housing.

The New Brunswick Student Alliance, which Minocha-McKenney is part of, has called for a year long extension of the program to allow students time to adjust.

“That’s probably the biggest thing that I’ve been hearing,” says Minocha-McKenney, “is this decision coming two months before we’re going into school, where students have already paid registration deposit, already registered for classes, and already have their lives set for school… And then to have this source of income loss for them during the year? That’s a hard thing.”

“We’re asking [the provincial government], even if this program isn’t something that can go on long term,” says Minocha-McKenney, “can it be extended, so that students can at least prepare for the year ahead?”

The NBSA is also calling for future consultation with students in advance of major changes that can impact so many. Minocha-McKenney says consultation in advance is not just important, but its essential for good decisions.

“If the provincial government came to us and said, you know, this program is not working how we want it, and these are the issues we have with it, and we want it to change or to get rid of it, then we can work with them,” says Minocha-McKenney.

“We’re not always against the government,” says Minocha-McKenney. “We want to work with the government to create solutions that are good for not just students, but the rest of New Brunswick as well.”

Hear this story as reported on Tantramar Report: