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TuesdayOctober2120143POLITICSLABOURNWTtolose3.4millionwithEIcutsSeasonallabourerswillbehithardestNWTMPDennisBevingtonByMEAGANWOHLBERGChangestotheemploymentinsuranceEIsystemforNortherncapitalslaunchedlastweekwithestimatesforecastingthatthecutstobenefitswilltotal3.4millionforYellowknife.Thenewtwo-zonesystemcameintoef-fectforthethreeNorthernterritoriesandP.E.I.onOct.14makingitmoredifficultforpeoplelivinginthecapitalstoqualifyforbenefitsthanresidentslivingintherestoftheterritories.Thenewrulesmeanpeopleinthecapitalmusthaveworked700hoursinthepast52weeksupfrom420tocollectEI.Thoseben-efitswillalsoonlybeavailableforamaxi-mumof36weeksinsteadoftheusual45.AccordingtodocumentsobtainedthroughAccesstoInformationbyCharlottetownMPSeanCaseythegovernmentforecaststheimpactsonthesystemwillseeanaver-agedecreaseofaround5000perpersonoratotallossof7millionfortheNorth.Thedocumentsestimate240peopleinYellowknifeand430outsideofthecapitalmayloseatotalof4.3millioninbenefits.FederalEmploymentMinisterJasonKen-neyfirstannouncedthechangesinYellow-knifelastFebruary.Atthattimedepart-mentspokespersonJordanSinclairtoldTheJournalitwasamatteroffairness.Thischangerecognizesthatjobsandop-portunitiesdiffergreatlybetweenthecapi-talregionsandthemoreremoteregionsofeachterritorySinclairsaid.ButNWTMPDennisBevingtonsaidthechangescoulddriveawayessentialseasonallabourbringingablowtotheterritorialeconomy.TherearesomanyseasonalworkersthataresovaluabletotheeconomyuphereandthosepeoplemayliveinYel-lowknifeandaregoingtogettreatedinawaythatIdontthinkisfairhesaid.Weneedthosepeopleforfiremanagementinthesummer.Wehavetohavethat.BevingtonsaiditisunlikelythatthesamepeoplewhoqualifyforseasonaljobsintheNorth-fromfirefightingtominingandindustrialwork-arethesamewhowillseekoutcustomerservicejobsdur-ingtheoff-season.ItdoesntalwaysworkwiththetypeofskillsetswerequireintheNorthhesaid.Peoplewhogooutinthebushandworkarenotservicesectorpeople.Bycuttingdownthebenefitsandthelengthoftimetheycangetbenefitsthisishurtingthemandwillultimatelyhurttheeconomy.Theywillmovesomewhereelse.Therearesomanysea-sonalworkersthataresovaluabletotheeconomyuphereandthosepeoplemayliveinYellowknifeandaregoingtogettreatedinawaythatIdontthinkisfair.MPDennisBevingtonPhotoBillBradenFederalEmploymentMinisterJasonKenneyannounceschangestoemploymentinsuranceforresidentsofthethreeterritorialcapitalsinYellowknifelastFebruary.GNWTsetspotentialvotingdatesfor2015territorialelectionByDALICARMICHAELTheterritorialgovernmentgotrightdowntobusinessonitsrstdaybackinsessionlastThursdaysettlingthedivisiveissueofpoten-tialtermextensionsforitsMLAs.TheNWTLegislativeAssemblyannouncedithassetdatesforthe2015territorialelec-tionsendinganongoingdebateoverwhetherthecurrentgovernmentshouldelongateits17thtermduetotheoverlapofxedfederalandterritorialelectiondatesnextOctober.TheMLAsdecidedthatifthefederalgovern-mentchoosestoholditselectionontheintendeddateofOct.192015theterritorialelectionswillbepushedbacksixweekstoNov.232015.Shouldanamendmenttothefederalelec-tiondatebemadebeforethetriggerdateofApr.12015theterritorialvotingdatewillremainOct.52015.TherearemanyreasonswhyanoverlapinthetwocampaignperiodsshouldbeavoidedsaidAlfredMosescaucusdeputychairandMLAforInuvikBootLake.InmanyofoursmallcommunitiesthesamestaffserveaselectionofcialsforbothElectionsCanadaandElectionsNWT.Thesamecanbesaidforthemanycampaignstaffandvolunteersthathelpcandidatesgettheirrespectivemessagesoutandprovideaclearchoicetothevoter.Healsoexpressedconcernthatthepossi-bilityofoverlappingcampaignperiodscouldseethefederallevelelectionovershadowtheterritorialoneandhaveaninuenceonthemorenon-partisannatureofterritorialpolitics.ThebillestablishingthetriggerdatewilldependonwhetherornotamendmentstotheNorthwestTerritoriesActarepassedinPar-liament.ItisexpectedthattheamendmentwillbeintroducedintheHouseofCommonsduringthecurrentfallsitting.ThisisntthersttimetheterritoryhaspushedbackitselectionschoosingtoholdthemaslateasDecemberinthepast.ProvincialgovernmentsinSaskatchewanPrinceEdwardIslandandManitobahavemadesimilarmovestoavoidoverlapnextfall.TheNWTsmunicipalelectionswillremainonOct.192015.POLITICSELECTIONMLAsintheNWThavesetpossibledatesfornextyearsterritorialelection.PhotoBillBraden