TRURO - Changes to the employment insurance program were on the minds of about 150 people on Saturday as they marched in protest to the local MP's constituency office.
Danny Cavanagh, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Nova Scotia, was pleased with the turnout.
Outside of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MP Scott Armstrong's office on Willow Street Cavanagh chanted ‘you say cutbacks' to which the crowd replied ‘fight back.'
The march from the Holiday Inn to Armstrong's office and rally was to oppose the changes Stephen Harper's federal government is planning for the program.
"Especially for seasoned workers," said Cavanagh. "Those changes would affect the bulk of our members, who are already on the poverty line now. Whether they're municipal workers or not, there will be implications on the employers."
Cavanagh said the changes are a move to drive some people out West.
"If the employers can have the same people come back every season, they won't have to re-train them because they already have the training they need," he said.
In a news release leading up to the rally, Cavanagh said a recent announcement regardding how much a worker can earn before their benefits becomes affected has "muddied the waters even more."
While addressing those at the rally, Cavanagh said the changes would push more people into poverty in the province.
I don't think that's quite as easy as you make it out to be. You make it sound like you can just go to a grocery store and buy a job alongside a loaf of bread. Not exactly.