Ottawa workers navigating gig apps, contract gigs, and part-time shifts are finding themselves with less of a safety net than ever — and a new national report explains why.
Food Banks Canada's latest poverty report card highlights a growing mismatch between Canada's Employment Insurance system and the modern labour market. The report finds that EI was designed for workers with stable, full-time jobs at a single employer — a description that fits fewer and fewer Canadians each year.
A System Built for a Different Era
As more workers take on freelance contracts, platform-based gig work (think rideshare, delivery, and remote contract roles), or string together multiple part-time jobs, they often don't qualify for EI at all — or qualify for far less than they need.
To access EI, workers must accumulate a set number of insurable hours. But gig workers classified as independent contractors don't pay into EI, and part-time workers may struggle to hit the threshold. The result: when work dries up, there's no cushion.
Ottawa's Workforce Is Changing
Ottawa's economy has long been anchored by stable public sector jobs, but that picture has been shifting. The city has seen growth in tech contracting, hospitality gig work, and short-term federal contracts — categories that often leave workers exposed. Add in the broader national trend of employers replacing permanent roles with temporary or contract positions, and the safety net starts to look full of holes.
Food banks in the Ottawa region have reported sustained high demand in recent years, even as the unemployment rate has appeared relatively stable on paper. This is the paradox the Food Banks Canada report zeroes in on: official employment numbers don't capture the instability that defines much of today's work.
What the Report Is Calling For
Food Banks Canada is urging the federal government to modernize EI eligibility rules to reflect how Canadians actually work in 2026. Key asks include:
- Extending EI coverage to gig and platform workers
- Lowering the hours threshold for part-time workers
- Creating a more responsive system that reflects multi-employer work histories
The report also pushes back against the idea that food bank usage is simply a temporary blip. Demand has remained elevated well beyond pandemic-era peaks, pointing to structural problems in how income support is delivered.
Why It Matters for Ottawa
For a city with a significant population of federal contractors and tech workers on short-term deals, EI reform isn't an abstract policy debate — it's a kitchen-table issue. When a contract ends or hours get cut, the difference between making rent and visiting a food bank can come down to whether EI is accessible.
Advocates in Ottawa have been calling for these reforms for years, noting that the gig economy's growth has outpaced any meaningful policy response at the federal level.
As Canada heads into a period of ongoing economic uncertainty, the question of who EI actually protects — and who it leaves behind — is one Ottawa residents and policymakers can't afford to ignore.
Source: CBC Ottawa / Food Banks Canada Poverty Report Card
