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Bill C-404

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SUMMARY

This enactment amends the method for setting the premium rate in the Employment Insurance Act. It also amends a number of provisions in this Act with respect to the Employment Insurance Account.

EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACCOUNT

This enactment provides that the Employment Insurance Account shall no longer be an account of Canada. Accordingly, the following amounts will be paid directly into the Employment Insurance Account, including

    (a) all the amounts credited to the Employment Insurance Account - as this account existed immediately prior to the day this section comes into force - and not charged to this account for the purposes of this Act on the coming into force of this section;

    (b) all amounts received under Parts I and III to IX, as or on account of premiums, fines, penalties, interest, repayment of overpaid benefits and benefit repayment;

    (c) all amounts collected by the Commission for services rendered to other government departments or agencies or to the public; and

    (d) all premiums required to be paid by Her Majesty in right of Canada as employer's premiums for persons employed in insurable employment by Her Majesty in right of Canada.

The amounts paid to the Employment Insurance Account will belong to the assets of the Employment Insurance Commission and the Commission must manage them in the best interest of the contributors and beneficiaries under the employment insurance system.

Payments out of the Employment Insurance Account include all amounts paid as or on account of benefits under the Employment Insurance Act and the costs of administering the Act.

The Minister of Finance may require the Commission to pay, by way of a loan, to Her Majesty in right of Canada an amount or part thereof that the Commission considers will not be immediately required for the purposes of the Employment Insurance Act.

Where the assets of the Employment Insurance Account are not sufficient for the payment of the amounts that the Commission is liable to pay under this Act, the Commission may request the Minister of Finance to grant the Commission a loan, from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, of an amount sufficient to meet the payments.

SETTING THE ANNUAL PREMIUM RATE

This enactment provides that every year the Employment Insurance Commission shall cause a report to be sent to the Minister of Human Resources Development containing its recommendations respecting the setting of the premium rate and the amount of benefits, if any, that the Commission considers will, to the extent possible, ensure that there will be enough revenue over a business cycle to pay the expenses authorized to be charged to the Employment Insurance Account and maintain relatively stable rate levels throughout the business cycle.

The Minister shall cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament within the first five days on which that House is sitting after the report has been received by the Minister.

Not later than November 30 in each year, the Minister shall set the contribution rate that the Minister considers will, to the extent possible, ensure that there will be enough revenue over a business cycle to pay the expenses authorized to be charged to the Employment Insurance Account and maintain relatively stable rate levels throughout the business cycle. In performing this duty, the Minister shall take into account the recommendations contained in the report of the Employment Insurance Commission.

This enactment also amends the Employment Insurance Act as follows:

    (a) a person who has worked at least 300 hours during her qualifying period eligible for special benefits;

    (b) maximum weekly insurable earnings are calculated in accordance with the standards set out in the former Unemployment Insurance Act;

    (c) weekly insurable earnings are the average insurable earnings of the claimant for the number of weeks, set out in a table, in which the claimant had the highest insurable earnings in the rate calculation period;

    (d) section 15 providing for a reduction in the weekly benefit rate payable to a claimant is repealed;

    (e) Schedule I (Table of Weeks of Benefit) is modified;

    (f) the concept of a new entrant or re-entrant to the labour force is repealed;

    (g) the threshold for insurable employment above which employees' premiums are refundable is increased from $2,000 to $5,000; and

    (h) the portion of earnings, received by an employment insurance claimant during a period of unemploment that may be retained by the claimant is amended.

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