The latest figures on Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits show those who have lost their jobs are already benefiting from the government's changes to the EI system, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday under fierce questioning in the House of Commons.

The number of Canadians collecting regular employment insurance benefits grew by 65,300, or more than 10 per cent, in March, marking the biggest monthly increase since the job market began to deteriorate in October, according to figures released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.

At the start of Tuesday's question period, Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff cited Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's admission the previous day that the recession would be more serious than forecast.

He then accused the Conservatives of failing to help Canadians who have lost their jobs during the recession, only to find they don't qualify for EI benefits.

“Perhaps this is news to the government but not to the unemployed, but if the recession is deeper than expected, then we need more economic stimulus,” Ignatieff told the House.

“And what better way to stimulate the economy than to improve the EI system?”

The Liberal leader has threatened to call a no-confidence vote and possibly trigger a summer election if Harper's minority Conservative government doesn't support his party's proposals on EI reform.

Extra five weeks of benefits

The prime minister told the House the economic picture is better for Canada than most governments around the world that have been forced to run deficits.

The current global economic recession has led the government to spend more this year on the EI system, including an extra five weeks of benefits for recipients in the January budget supported by the Liberals, Harper said.

He noted the number of EI beneficiaries rose faster than the numbers of unemployed in March.

“This means that the vast majority of the unemployed are receiving EI benefits,” Harper said.

Ignatieff has called for an immediate, temporary change that would make people eligible for EI benefits if they've worked 360 hours in the previous 52 weeks — regardless of where they live.

But the prime minister said the government cannot change the EI plan "every two to three months."

"We have a response to this situation, and this is helping the vast majority of the unemployed in the country," he said.

Qualification threshold varies

The Liberals would require the support of the two other opposition parties to defeat the government in a no-confidence in the House of Commons and force the second election in a year.

The NDP and Bloc Québécois have called for the EI eligibility threshold to be expanded permanently, not just for as long as the current recession lasts.

NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe also called for the elimination of the two-week benefit waiting period and for self-employed workers to have access to benefits.

The current EI benefit qualification threshold varies across the country from 420 to 910 hours, depending on how high the local jobless rate is.

On Monday, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced proposed changes to the employment insurance system that stopped short of the opposition parties' demands.

The government's proposed changes include a $500-million program for retraining laid-off, long-tenured workers and an extension of EI benefits if applicants participate in longer-term training of up to two years.