The information gleaned from the Service Canada website reported that new legislation was being enacted and was intended to help long term workers , in the manufacturing sector, to extend their benefit period, Those who had lost their jobs and had paid into the E.I. Program for many years etc. The Date January 04,2009, which is used for determining eligibility for these new benefits is a “poison pill” to this new legislation because it removes this help line to the bulk of manufacturing,”long term”,workers. Those who lost their jobs in the latter part of 2008. January 04, 2009, other then being near the start or end of the calendar year: 1)has no significance ie historically eligibility for benefits has been based on models that are created from measurable and factual (as possible) statistics. 2)it has no reference point to loss or creation of work caused by the recession to this date and therefore has no basis. 3)it creates unfair divisions within a work force and maligns one group of workers(citizens) and shows preferential treatment for another group(s). for example the majority of those lost jobs in 2008 in auto manufacturing were workers of companies that supplied the parts. This group greatly out number any other in the production of automobiles. They are being maligned . I belong to this group. Naturally you have to make the parts before you can assemble the car. So naturally auto part supply companies were the first to feel the effects of a drop in demand for automobiles and were the first to lay off their staff. Assembly workers employed by the big 3 were mostly laid off on Jan 04, 2009, making the bulk of them eligible for these extended benefits. These big three announced publicly in the press their intentions early in December of 2008 through the media, that they intended to lay off the majority of their employees on this date January 04, 2008 . This group is being shown preferential treatment. 4)regional bias, most of the assembly plants are located in centralized regions such as Oakville and Oshawa. Other areas such as Brant and Haldimand Norfolk etc. have only part suppliers and none of this money would ever be seen in those parts by their citizens. In Conclusion The date of January 04, 2009, attached to this legislation effectively removes eligibility for the bulk of workers, especially those supplying parts for the auto industry and were affected adversely earlier in the recession , who had paid into E.I. ( not to mention the huge deficits) for many years and who have lost their livelihoods due to this downturn in the economy. It shows preferential treatment for big 3 workers and their communities. I Feel this is unfair and goes against the benign intent of these new enactments or “acts” Sincerely, Stephen Charbonneau