Government Paid Out Double What Was Expected In Northern EI Payments

Canadian Press

Over 79-million dollars in extra EI benefits were paid out in northern Ontario as part of the federal program designed to give extra financial help to out-of-work Canadians in the 15 hardest-hit economic regions.

There were over 22-thousand claims in the north, not including the 43-hundred claims in Sudbury.

Across Canada, officials say total payments in the program are double what Ottawa anticipated it would spend, and have surpassed a billion dollars.