I am still not sure what they want to accomplish here with these rallies. Are they looking to have EI benefits extended to the point where the mills open again?

We have lost our jobs, all we want is a little more help until we can find a job. You might think that all of us want to sit around, not the case, we are scared and worried that we will loose our homes and not be able to feed our families. Is that so hard for you to understand?

Mercenary, it sure sounds like you have'nt woke up yet.If we don't stand up to these people we call "The Government" for the people by the people(what a joke!!!!) who will.Some hide their head in the sand,some stand up and fight.If something is not done soon, there will be a breaking point and we all don't want to see it come to that!!!!

They (UIC) WILL NOT raise rates or extend times because they spent all the excess money. I am so sorry for all who have lost their living but the government at all levels just does not care. So sorry!

The Government has to stand behind the EI fund even if it goes broke.

If you take the 129000 people laid off in January and assume that they received the maximum $435.00 per week for 50 weeks, then it will cost the EI fund $2 Billion $800,000.00 just for the layoffs in January. Once you include all those laid off prior to January and those who will be laid off in the coming months and you can see that the $50 Billion that was in the EI fund will be gone quite quickly.

I guess the question is,is how much EI is enough, to get by until people find a job.

If it was me in that position I would be taking any job I could find anywhere in Alberta or BC in the short term, because even the low paying jobs, that normally one wouldnt take, will not be available 6 months from now.

Hard times are coming and those who adjust first will last the longest.

Governments at all levels are in a no win situation. People seem to hate everything they do and every decision they make and they have their hands out asking government to fix all of their problems.

I suspect many of the jobs in the forest industry that have been lost aren't coming back. How long should the government prop people up before they get the message?

Realistically,I really don't think anyone expects very much from these rallies given the kind of political representation we have!
But it is a chance for those who are hurting to voice their concerns and maybe...just maybe..someone in Ottawa or even here in B.C.will listen.
But I doubt it.
When you have very little left to lose,a little moral support from those in the same situation can go a long way,
There is always security in numbers.
And Nora Wilkins from Mackenzie also has a very valid point in regards to discrimination against women in the EI system.
It has gone on for years.
EI is a government cash cow and they have been lying about how it is used to those who actually contribute for many,many years.
And if we had a provincial government with some family jewels,they would be screaming loud and long at the federal government in support of the unemployed, instead of just a token blurb every now and then about everything they are doing for those who have lost their jobs.
It is about support and encouragement from those we elect to represent us, instead of collecting a fat pay cheque and paying lip service to peoples concerns just to shut them up!
Protest and KEEP protesting...it's not much, but it IS is all that far too many people have left!
Get in their faces!
Sit back and say nothing and those we elect WILL run right over us.

Umm. I lost my job in Mackenzie at the paper mill so I also have first hand knowledge of what is happening. It has been a year. Not to be harsh here but what have you done over the last year to find work? Its been a YEAR!!

What can the government possibly do to get the mills reopened? It all comes down to supply and demand and there is no demand for our products these days. As for the government being a joke, well no argument there. But that is not new and likely not going to change soon.

I am a seasonal worker, I work from March to Novenber, get $11 per hour and I am good at my job. My husband is layed off and we have put resumes all over, not just in the mills but everywhere else we can think of. Even applied for a dishwasher, so we are willing to to just about anything it takes. He finally got a job with a highway improvement contractor, will be there again this year if their are hiring. So we do work when the work is there. So in my first comment we do not sit around, but when the job is gone we need that help, my wage is not enough. Have you looked in the paper to see how many jobs that are listed? Not many.

Well Lifesucks, again not to be harsh here but your husband isn't laid off, he is done. The mills aren't going to open any time soon so it is time to move on. This isn't a temporary blip on the radar. It is done. Now to sound contrary...IF the mill jobs come back then he will have recall rights and he can go back to work if he wants to.

As for the jobs in the paper, well I don't really look there as I tend to do my work searches on the internet.

Now I am all for workers getting retrained for a new career and having EI there to support them while they are at it. While I wasn't eligible for the retraining grant provided from EI I took the lay-off as an opportunity to get trained to do what I really wanted to do and now I do that for employment. It was really tough. I had to declare bankruptcy and leave Mackenzie to find work but it is possible.

Folks here might think that bankruptcy is the last straw and the ultimate failure. I also thought this until it happened to me. However I am much further ahead now than if I didn't do it. I didn't loose my house. I didn't loose my car. My retirement savings are intact and protected and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

If you honestly can't find work anywhere then I truly feel for you. There can't be any worst feeling in the world. However if you just keep looking for a job here in Mackenzie or its immediate area then all I can say is expand your horizons. There are jobs out there still in the oil patch in Alberta and Saskatchewan and even in northern BC.

Nobody expects the government to start up the mill in Mackenzie, or anywhere else for that matter and that would apply to sawmills AND pulpmills.
We have all seen the results of that, going away back to Ocean Falls and more recently, Prince Rupert.
It is about support and a means to hang on to what you have left.
Looking for a job that isn't there is pretty damn tough when you don't even have 2 cents to rub together because your EI ran out.
Then what?
The bank takes your home and maybe your car and the next stop is welfare.
Welfare...do our politicians even begin to understand what that does to a guy who has worked all his life to support his family and build a life?
Sure,some hung on for too long, hoping to stay in their communities to work instead of leaving,but that doesn't mean they are lazy ot not looking.
They just wanted to believe.
There was a shock effect to this mess because many had never been through something like this, and they thought it would get better, sooner than later.
Well it didn't, and we all understand that now.
We elect a government/s to look after our best interests on our behalf.
What we actually end up with is a bunch of overpaid opportunists sitting in an office somewhere on an expense account telling us what we are NOT going to get and what we are doing wrong!
They could do a hell of a lot better considering what we pay them, and it is about time we started to help them understand that, because they are just not getting it!

Thankyou Mercenary, the government grant might might be the best way to go, and take his retirement, we were too late for the first round, but maybe get in on this new offer. Since he is near to retirement getting retrained is further and further away for him. It stands to reason they do not want to retrain someone who will retire soon, but needs to keep working even part time with the E.I. assistance. Correct me if I am wrong{or you might think I am stupid} but going bankrupt if you hold a mortgage, the bank takes your home away and along with it your good credit rating, then you are deemed for 7 years. I would appreciate your answer.

With all due respect lifesucks, you should be taking these kinds of questions to a bank or credit councillor. Everybody's situation is different and it's probably not best to rely on anonymous opinions on an internet forum.

They will not take your home away, but they may take equity out (think it is limited to $30K or something like that). Im surprised to hear he didnt loose retirement funds, but that depends on his definition. You prob dont loose pension but prob do loose rrsps. It all depends on what you have but the bottom line is that they wont let you go bankrupt unless you are underwater (more liabilities than assets). Bankrupcy allows people to start over and unfortunately how difficult it is to start over may depend on your age.

Loosing assets sucks, but who cares about credit rating. Most people could do with less access to credit anyway.

Nothing to lose? Get ten men and a drum and start a revolution. That's the only way governments listen.

If these clowns don't start listening to us, they leave us no choice.We hear today that in the first 9 months of 2008 we sold $166 million of lumber pruducts to China, wonder how much of that money came from Raw Log Exports

Hmmm. I think you are asking me if I lost my RRSP's in the bankruptcy. Well no I didn't. Retirement savings are protected under the new bankruptcy laws. We also did not lose our house and we do have a mortgage on it still. Our truck was only worth about 5 grand so we were able to keep that and we still have a car loan on our car. I did loose my quad but even then the finance company called us and was willing to re-negotiate a new payment schedule for it if we chose to keep it. I decided to give it up and free up some more money.

Sure my credit is shot. However I could buy a new car tomorrow if I needed to. I would pay a fortune in interest charges due to my bad credit but I could get a loan if I needed it.

I will tell you that bankruptcy was our final option. We tried and tried to keep our heads above water by selling stuff like the quad and truck before we went broke but no one was buying at the time. We just ran out of time and money. It was an easy decision when food was getting scarce in the cupboard and the heat was gonna be cut off :)

I appreciate that everyone's situation is different. What worked for me won't necessarily work for others. However I do believe that we need to take control of our own issues and not wait for a bail-out or a hand out from the government to keep going.

Mercenary @ 8:53AM & 9:59AM:

Your posts appear to imply you have first hand knowledge of the downturn in the forest industry. You state that you were laid off @ the papermill in Mackenzie. As this was a permanaent shutdown you would have been eligible for some amount of Severence.

One reason these people are trying to keep this issue @ the forefront is that there are aprox. 8-10 mills under indefinite/temporary shutdown in northern B.C. Personally I don't think any wants to see these mills permanently shut, I do agree the reality is that most will never resume operations.

In a letter from Winton Global it states "as this is not a permanent closure , there is no severence pay entitlement, further the Company wishes to preserve its workforce for the future resumption of operations." The issue is how do they expect to "preserve" a workforce for the next 2-3 years without any assistance financially.

I am sorry to read of your bankruptcy, unfortunately it will be a story repeated too many times.

Someone suggested that there are still jobs in the oilpatch, I hope that is true but I hear otherwise. I would like to be proven wrong. Does anyone have something concrete on the number and location of these jobs that are supposedly available?

Aw come on there dirtcheap relax life is to short to get that upset jump on your sled and go for a long ride it will feel very relaxing...

dmg,It is people like you that this province does not need.Until we stand up to this "Government" they will just keep on destroying this province one city at a time.Do you not understand that exporting raw logs is exporting jobs.

Winton Orphan: I did indeed receive a severance from AbitibiBowater when the paper mill shut down. For myself being such a short timer there it amounted to just over 5 thousand dollars which was about 1 months worth of expenses at the time. There were folks who did receive much more due to their years at the mill.

What some of these companies are doing in order not to pay severance is criminal IMO. However it is what it is. Are you willing to wait the time it would take in the courts to fight it? Sure it is a good and honest battle that needs to be fought but battles are best fought from a position of strength.

Look, it is fine for us to sit at our keyboards and debate the issues. However as most of us know nothing will change in the short term. People need to take charge of their situation and change it themselves. No one will do it for you.