Bill Detail

This enactment amends the Employment Insurance Act to, among other things

increase the 2023 maximum yearly insurable earnings by 40 %;

establish a hybrid criterion for receiving benefits that consists of hours or weeks of work and consequently eliminate the system of major and minor attachment claimants and the concept of a waiting period;

allow an extension of the qualifying period for a person who is unavailable for work because of a parental leave;

increase the maximum number of weeks for which benefits may be paid in a benefit period by replacing the table in Schedule I;

eliminate the combined weeks of benefits rule, which limits the total number of weeks of benefits to 50 when a person is entitled to both regular and special benefits;

increase the maximum number of weeks for which benefits may be paid in a benefit period because of illness, injury or quarantine from 26 weeks to 50 weeks;

provide that a claimant’s weekly insurable earnings are equal to their insurable earnings in the period of 12 consecutive or non-consecutive weeks for which they received the highest insurable earnings;

increase the rate of weekly earnings that must be paid to a claimant from 55 % to 60 %;

entitle to benefits a person who is unable to work because of domestic violence, an obligation to assume parental responsibilities or a return to education; and

establish the Employment Insurance Fund, to be administered by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.

The Act also contains transitional provisions and makes a consequential amendment to the Department of Employment and Social Development Act.