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Malsbury, who is struggling to pay rent on a maximum of $450 a week on EI, worries his benefits are about to run out and the amount he takes home is only enough to buy food.

“I’m getting a third of what I normally earn. It’s not nearly enough.”

Photo by Leah Hennel / Postmedia

Warren Campbell, a framer who was out of work for weeks but was able to find a job just two days ago, said “EI coverage isn’t enough. It needs to be expanded because a lot of people are really hurting. I still have many friends on EI right now. They can’t find work and they are barely able to pay their bills.”

Courtney Hare, public policy manager at Momentum, which provides financial counselling for low-income earners, said while benefit extensions are always welcome, receiving enough on EI to make ends meet is still critical.

“It’s important that EI benefits are more than what someone earns on the poverty line,” she said, estimating that while maximum EI benefits total $28,000 a year, the poverty line for a family of four is as high as $45,000.

Isaiah Ijente, who lost his job as a safety co-ordinator in Fort McMurray last summer, is struggling to pay his mortgage and expenses for his two teenage daughters and his wife, who is a university student.

“The level of benefits I get is not enough for me to take care of my family.”

The budget also cut the two-week waiting period for benefits to one week, starting next year, added $19 million to speed up processing of benefit applications and $73 million over two years to hire more people at overwhelmed call centres.