This isn't the first study on the changes. There was one done for the Alward Government. It showed the changes would reduce E-I benefits in the province by an estimated 7 million dollars.
A poll done by Corporate Research Associates found 62 per cent of New Brunswickers were opposed to the changes with opposition strongest the older people were.
Under the changes, if unemployed you would be forced to travel as far as 100 kilometers for a job and accept as much as 30 per cent less pay. Even without the changes, less than 40 per cent of people who lose their jobs qualify for E-I benefits.