Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley was in Windsor Tuesday talking to employees at Masons Apples.

The Minister, who comes from an apple town in Southern Ontario, toured the facility and talked to the seasonal employees in general terms about what the government plans to do with upcoming changes to employment insurance.

She said EI has taught people not to look for work during the off months, and that needs to change.

“If you’re looking for something for those three months then maybe, and I say maybe, jobs that would suit you and if there are then you’re going to be better off taking that job for the three months,” she said. “There are a lot of cases where people are in an agricultural job and there are jobs available to them and they’re not taking them because EI teaches them not to.”

Finley explained the details still need to be worked out and offered little in the way of specifics at this time.

The employees seemed skeptical when they voiced some of their concerns to the Minister in a brief discussion.

They talked about employers not wanting to hire someone for a couple of months or being expected to drive long distances for temporary work.

After the Q and A was done, a couple of the employees spoke more candidly about the changes.

When one woman was asked if she thought the minister, “got it,” referring to the worker’s concerns, she simply said, “no.”