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OTTAWA — Finance Minister Bill Morneau defended the Liberal government’s decision to boost employment insurance benefits for parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan while leaving some hard hit areas of the oil patch out of the budget plan.

Morneau said the government had to decide what areas across the country needed the most help with extra weeks of employment insurance benefits for jobless workers.

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Left off that list were cities like Edmonton, and parts of Saskatchewan that Premier Brad Wall has said could also use the help.

Morneau told CTV’s “Question Period” that the government picked 12 regions to help them “deal with what’s been a significant change and a harder time for those people to get re-employed.” The dozen spots included Newfoundland and Labrador, parts of northern and southern Alberta, northern British Columbia, northern Manitoba, northern Ontario, northern Saskatchewan, Calgary, Sudbury, Saskatoon, Whitehorse and Nunvaut.