Human Resources Minister Diane Finley says the Liberals are being unreasonable about proposed changes to employment insurance. (CBC)

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley blasted the Liberals on Wednesday about proposed changes to employment insurance, saying the opposition party is being unreasonable.

"Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberal members have publicly stated they are not willing to move off their 360-hour entry point for employment insurance," said Finley, who is part of a panel examining the issue.

"Let me be clear, let me be very clear that working nine weeks and collecting EI for the rest of the year is something straight out of academic fantasyland.

"Mr. Ignatieff is going to have to come forward with specific, detailed financially responsible ideas that won’t raise taxes for Canadians who can least afford it at this point in time."

The Conservatives and Liberals committed to a series of meetings over the summer to deal with the EI issue as part of an agreement that avoided an election.

The Liberals have threatened to defeat the government if they can't reach a deal. EI qualification rules vary across the country and the opposition is looking for more uniformity.

"We don't want an election right now, Canadians don't want an election; we don't need one — what we need to do is continue managing the economy and making more benefits available," Finley said following Wednesday's Conservative caucus meeting.

But Ignatieff's team has not said that the 360-hour threshold is their bottom-line in the negotiations. Instead, they've called it their "entry point."

Ignatieff has said he is flexible on the number of qualifying hours needed for employment insurance but wants to see more regional fairness.

With files from The Canadian Press