Bill C-269

1st Session, 39th Parliament,

55 Elizabeth II, 2006

house of commons of canada

BILL C-269

An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (improvement of the employment insurance system)

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. Subsection 2(5) of the Employment Insurance Act is replaced by the following:

(5) For the purposes of section 145, the Commission may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, make regulations for establishing how many weeks of benefits a claimant was paid, in order to take into account benefit reductions or deductions in the calculation or payment of those benefits.

2. (1) Subsection 4(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

4. (1) For the purposes of subsection 14(1.1), section 17, subsection 82(2) and sections 95 and 145, the maximum yearly insurable earnings is $41,500 (indexed annually) until the amount calculated in accord­ance with subsection (2) for a year, before rounding down under subsection (4), exceeds $41,500 (indexed annually), in which case the maximum yearly insurable earnings for that year is that amount, rounded down under subsection (4).

(2) Subsection 4(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(3) For years subsequent to the year in which the maximum yearly insurable earnings exceeds $41,500 (indexed annually), before rounding down under subsection (4), the maximum yearly insurable earnings is the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the preceding year, before rounding down under subsection (4), multiplied by the ratio that the average for the twelve month period ending on June 30 in that preceding year of the Average Weekly Earnings for each month in that twelve month period bears to the average for the twelve month period ending twelve months prior to June 30 of that preceding year of the Average Weekly Earnings for each month in that twelve month period ending twelve months prior to June 30 of that preceding year.

(3) Section 4 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):

3. Paragraph 5(3)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(b) if the employer is, within the meaning of that Act, related to the employee, they are deemed to deal with each other at arm’s length unless the Minister of National Revenue is satisfied that, having regard to all the circumstances of the employment, including the remuneration paid, the terms and conditions, the duration and the nature and importance of the work performed, it is reasonable to conclude that they would not have entered into a substantially similar contract of employment if they had been dealing with each other at arm’s length.

4. (1) The definition “waiting period” in subsection 6(1) of the Act is repealed.

(2) The definition “disentitled” in subsection 6(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

“disentitled” means not entitled under section 18, 21, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 49 or 50 or under the regulations;

5. Subsections 7(2) to (5) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(2) An insured person qualifies if the person

(a) has had an interruption of earnings from employment; and

(b) has had during their qualifying period at least 360 hours of insurable employment.

6. (1) Subsections 7.1(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

7.1 (1) The number of hours that an insured person requires under section 7 to qualify for benefits is increased to the applicable number provided in paragraphs (a) to (d) if the insured person accumulates one or more violations in the 260 weeks before making their initial claim for benefit:

(d) 850 hours in the case of one or more subsequent violations.

(2) Subsection 7.1(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(3) A violation may not be taken into account under subsection (1) in more than two initial claims for benefits if the insured person qualified for benefits with the increased number of hours in each of those claims.

7. Section of 13 of the Act is repealed.

8. (1) Subsection 14(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

14. (1) The rate of weekly benefits payable to a claimant is 60% of their weekly insurable earnings.

(2) Subsections 14(4) and (4.1) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(4) The rate calculation period is the period of 12 weeks, consecutive or not, during which the claimant received earnings greater than any other period of 12 weeks, consecutive or not.

9. (1) Subsection 19(1) of the Act is repealed.

(2) The portion of subsection 19(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), if the claimant has earnings during a week of unemployment, there shall be deducted from benefits payable in that week the amount, if any, of the earnings that exceeds

10. Section 20 of the Act is replaced by the following:

20. If a claimant is disentitled from receiving benefits for a working day in a week of unemployment, an amount equal to 1/5 of their weekly rate of benefits for each such working day shall be deducted from the benefits payable for that week.

11. Subsection 22(4) of the Act is repealed.

12. Subsection 23(5) of the Act is repealed.

13. Subsection 23.1(7) of the Act is repealed.

14. Subsection 24(1) of the Act is amended by adding the word “and” at the end of paragraph “(g)” and by repealing paragraph (h).

15. Subsection 28(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(2) Subject to subsections (3) to (5), the weeks of disqualification are to be served during the weeks for which benefits would otherwise be payable if the disqualification had not been imposed and, for greater certainty, the length of the disqualification is not affected by any subsequent loss of employment by the claimant during the benefit period.

16. Subsection 30(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(2) The disqualification is for each week of the claimant’s benefit period and, for greater certainty, the length of the disqualification is not affected by any subsequent loss of employment by the claimant during the benefit period.

17. (1) Paragraph 54(a) of the Act is repealed.

(2) Paragraph 54(f) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(f) determining the amount to be deducted under section 20 from weekly benefits paid if the claimant normally works other than a five day week;

(3) Paragraph 54(f.6) of the Act is repealed.

18. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 153:

19. Schedule I to the Act is replaced by Schedule I set out in the schedule to this Act.