Employment Insurance Regulations - Amendments

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Past Amendments to (Main) Regulations

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Resolution   Amendments   Analysis Statement

AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REGULATIONS

SOR/2010-301
December 10, 2010

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AMENDMENTS

1. The definition “variable administrative costs” in section 76.01 of the Employment Insurance Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following: 

“variable administrative costs” means the amount of direct operating costs incurred to provide benefits under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act that fluctuate with the number of claims for such benefits that are processed, not including any fixed operating costs related to the administration of the Act. (frais administratifs variables)

2. Sections 76.04 and 76.041 of the Regulations are replaced by the following: 

76.04 The employee’s and employer’s premiums payable under sections 67 and 68 of the Act, respectively, shall be reduced as provided by section 76.05 if the payment of provincial benefits to insured persons under a provincial plan would have the effect referred to in subsection 69(2) of the Act in respect of benefits payable to those persons under section 22 or 23 of the Act.

3. (1) Subsection 76.06(1) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

76.06 (1) The premium reduction rate for a year is the rate determined by subtracting the rate determined under paragraph (b) from the rate determined under paragraph (a) and by rounding off the difference in accordance with section 66.4 of the Act:

1. the rate determined by adding the following results, namely,
   1. the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of all benefits that will be paid under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act in respect of that year to all claimants who are not covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are not covered by such a plan, and
   2. the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of the variable administrative costs that will be incurred in that year to provide benefits under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act to all claimants who are not covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are not covered by such a plan; and
2. the rate determined by adding the following results, namely,
   1. the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of all benefits that will be paid under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act in respect of that year to all claimants who are covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are covered by such a plan, and
   2. the result obtained by dividing the estimated total amount of the variable administrative costs that will be incurred in that year to provide benefits under sections 22, 23, 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act to all claimants who are covered by a provincial plan or any other similar plan established under a provincial law by the sum of the estimated total amount of insurable earnings in that year multiplied by 2.4 and the estimated amount of self-employed earnings in that year, taking into consideration the maximum yearly insurable earnings for the year as calculated under section 4 of the Act, of self-employed persons who have entered into — or will enter into during that year — an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act, of all persons who are covered by such a plan.

(2) Subsection 76.06(3) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 

(3) The results referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) shall be determined having regard to the same factors as those set out in section 66 of the Act.

4. Subsection 76.09(5) of the Regulation is replaced by the following:

(5) For greater certainty, if two persons are caring for the same child or children and one of them is a claimant referred to in subsection (4),

1. subsections (1) to (3) apply in respect of the other person if that other person is an insured person; and
2. subsections 76.36(1) to (3) apply in respect of the other person if that other person is a self-employed person.

5. Paragraph 76.1(1)( a ) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 

1. have been paid one or more weeks of provincial benefits within the meaning of this Part or Part III.2 in the period of 208 weeks referred to in that subsection; and

6. Section 76.12 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

76.12 (1) Paragraph 12(1)(a) is considered to include a week in respect of which a claimant is paid provincial benefits within the meaning of this Part or Part III.2.

(2) Paragraph 12(2)(d) is considered to include a week in respect of which a claimant is paid provincial benefits within the meaning of this Part or Part III.2 as a prescribed week that is not to be taken into account when determining what weeks are within the rate calculation period.

7. Section 76.13 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

76.13 The reference to “a week during which the person was in receipt of benefits” in subsection 8(5) of the Act shall be read as including a week for which the person was paid provincial benefits within the meaning of this Part or Part III.2.

8. (1) The portion of subsection 76.19(1) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

76.19 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the provincial benefits paid to a claimant in respect of a week in a benefit period are considered to be benefits paid in respect of a week under the Act if the claimant would have been entitled to the corresponding types of benefits under the Act, and any week in respect of which the claimant receives provincial benefits counts as a week for the purpose of calculating

(2) Paragraph 76.19(1)(b) of the English version of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 

b. the maximum number of weeks for which benefits may be paid under subsection 12(4) of the Act.

(3) Section 76.19 of the Regulations is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):

(1.1) A benefit period is deemed to be established when a benefit period was established under a provincial law, and it is deemed to have begun the same week as the period established under the provincial law if the claimant would have been entitled to the corresponding types of benefits under the Act in respect of the same period.

9. The Regulations are amended by adding the following after section 76.3:

PART III.2

REDUCTION OF PREMIUM FOR SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS COVERED BY A PLAN ESTABLISHED UNDER A PROVINCIAL LAW

INTERPRETATION

76.31 The following definitions apply in this Part.

“plan established under a provincial law” means a plan, established under a provincial law, that provides for the payment of provincial benefits and in respect of which the premium payable under section 152.21 of the Act is subject to a system for reducing that premium if the payment of allowances, money or other benefits payable under the provincial law would have the effect of reducing or eliminating benefits payable under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act. (régime établi en vertu d’une loi provinciale)

“provincial benefits” means allowances, money or other benefits, paid to a self-employed person under a plan established under a provincial law because of pregnancy or in respect of the care by that person of one or more of their new-born children or one or more children placed with them for the purpose of adoption. (prestations provinciales)

STANDARDS

76.32 A plan established under a provincial law shall meet the following requirements:

1. the plan must provide for the payment of provincial benefits;
2. the plan must, at a minimum, cover substantially the same persons as those who are self-employed persons under the Act;
3. the global amount of provincial benefits payable to a person under the plan must be substantially equivalent to or greater than the global amount of benefits payable to a self-employed person under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act;
4. the plan must provide that an applicant who has received provincial benefits in respect of at least one week under it shall continue to receive such benefits for their full period of entitlement, even if, after receiving provincial benefits in respect of one week, they become a resident of a different province; and
5. the plan must provide for the sharing, by the province with the Government of Canada, of information obtained in the course of administering the plan that is necessary for the administration of a premium reduction system established by this Part, as well as information prepared from that information.

PREMIUM REDUCTION

76.33 The self-employment premium payable under section 152.21 of the Act shall be reduced as provided by section 76.34 if the payment of provincial benefits would have the effect referred to in subsection 69(2) of the Act in respect of benefits payable to those persons under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act.

76.34 The premium reduction to be applied to the self-employment premium shall be calculated by applying the premium reduction rate determined in accordance with section 76.06.

76.35 (1) The premium reduction rate of the self-employment premium determined under section 76.06 shall be made available to the public by the Commission as soon as possible after it is determined.

(2) The reference to “premium rates” in the second sentence of section 66.5 of the Act shall be read as including a reference to the premium reduction rate of the self-employment premium determined in accordance with subsection 76.06(1).

DISENTITLEMENT

76.36 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a self-employed person is disentitled to be paid benefits under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act if they are entitled to receive provincial benefits.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if, at the request of the self-employed person, it is determined by the Commission that the amount of provincial benefits that the self-employed person is entitled to receive is not substantially equivalent to or greater than the amount of benefits that they are entitled to receive under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act.

(3) Every self-employed person who has received, or has applied for and is entitled to receive, provincial benefits in respect of any week is disentitled to be paid benefits in respect of that same week under Part VII.1 of the Act, other than benefits under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act.

(4) For greater certainty, subsections (1) to (3) apply in respect of a self-employed person who has applied for and is entitled to receive provincial benefits even if the self-employed person, after making that application, ceases to reside in the province providing those benefits.

(5) For greater certainty, if two persons are caring for the same child or children and one of them is a self-employed person referred to in subsection (4),

1. subsections (1) to (3) apply in respect of the other person if that other person is a self-employed person; and
2. subsections 76.09(1) to (3) apply in respect of the other person if that other person is an insured person.

REDUCTION OF BENEFITS

76.37 The benefits payable under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act to a self-employed person in respect of any week in respect of which the claimant has received or is entitled to receive provincial benefits shall be reduced as provided by section 76.38.

76.38 An amount equal to the amount of the provincial benefits that a self-employed person has received or is entitled to receive in respect of any week shall be deducted from the amount of benefits payable under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act to the self-employed person in respect of that same week, in addition to any deductions referred to in subsections 152.04(4) and 152.05(11) and section 152.18 of the Act.

NO DOUBLE COUNTING OF WEEKS

76.39 If provincial benefits paid in respect of a week have been taken into account for the purpose of section 76.4, no benefits paid under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act in respect of a week shall be taken into account for the same purpose.

PAYMENT OF BENEFITS

76.4 (1) Subject to subsection (3), the provincial benefits paid to a self-employed person in respect of a week in a benefit period are considered to be benefits paid in respect of a week under the Act if the self-employed person would have been entitled to the corresponding types of benefits under the Act, and any week in respect of which the self-employed person receives provincial benefits counts as a week for the purpose of calculating

1. the overall maximum number of weeks for which benefits may be paid in a benefit period under paragraphs 152.14(1)(a) and (b) of the Act taken together; and
2. the maximum number of weeks for which benefits may be paid under subsection 152.14(2) of the Act.

(2) A benefit period is deemed to be established when a benefit period was established under a provincial law, and it is deemed to have begun the same week as the period established under the provincial law if the self-employed person would have been entitled to the corresponding types of benefits under the Act in respect of the same period.

(3) If the provincial benefits may be paid at an accelerated rate, such that the maximum amount of a particular type of provincial benefit may be paid to a self-employed person over fewer weeks, and the self-employed person is paid those benefits at the accelerated rate, the number of weeks of benefits that those weeks of provincial benefits represent under the Act shall be determined by multiplying the number of weeks of the particular type of provincial benefits paid to the self-employed person by the result obtained by dividing the maximum number of such weeks of benefits payable at the non-accelerated rate by the maximum number of such weeks of benefits payable at the accelerated rate.

(4) If the determination of the number of weeks under subsection (3) results in a number that contains a fraction of a week, the number shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of one week or, if the amount is equidistant from two multiples of one week, to the higher multiple.

76.41 If the maximum number of weeks referred to in paragraph 152.14(1)(a) or (b) or (2)(a) or (b) of the Act is less than the maximum number of weeks for which the corresponding types of provincial benefits may be paid, the excess number of weeks for which provincial benefits may be paid shall not be taken into account for the purpose of determining the maximum number of weeks referred to in that paragraph.

PERSONS MAKING CLAIMS UNDER DIFFERENT REGIMES

76.42 (1) Subsection (2) applies in respect of two persons who are caring for the same child or children and who do not reside in the same province at the time the first one of them makes an application under section 152.04 or 152.05 of the Act or an application for provincial benefits.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), if one of the two persons referred to in subsection (1) has applied for and is entitled to receive benefits under section 152.05 of the Act (referred to in this section as “the self-employed person”) and the other person has applied for and is entitled to receive provincial benefits (referred to in this section as “the provincial applicant”), unless they have entered into an agreement as to the number of weeks of such benefits they will each respectively apply for or there is a court order respecting the sharing of those weeks of benefits,

1. if the number of weeks of benefits that the self-employed person would otherwise be entitled to receive under section 152.05 of the Act is an even number, the number of weeks of benefits payable to the self-employed person is half that number; and
2. if that number is an odd number,
   1. if the self-employed person made the earlier application, one week of those benefits plus half of the remaining weeks of benefits is payable to the self-employed person, and
   2. if the provincial applicant made the earlier application, half the number of weeks of benefits remaining, after deducting one week, are payable to the self-employed person.

(3) The maximum number of weeks of benefits that may be paid to the self-employed person under section 152.05 of the Act shall not be greater than the maximum number of weeks for which benefits may be paid under paragraph 152.14(1)(b) of the Act less the number of weeks of provincial benefits that are paid to the provincial applicant, taking into account any weeks of provincial benefits that are paid at the accelerated rate referred to in subsection 76.4(3), if applicable.

INTERPROVINCIAL MOBILITY

76.43 A self-employed person who has ceased to reside in a province that has a plan established under a provincial law and who entered into an agreement under section 152.02 of the Act within 12 months before the day on which they ceased to reside in the province or within three months after that day is deemed, in order to qualify for the benefits payable under sections 152.04 and 152.05 of the Act, to have satisfied the condition set out in paragraph 152.07(1)(a) of the Act if they were covered by that plan during the 12 months before the day on which they ceased to reside in the province.

ADMINISTRATION

76.44 A self-employed person’s social insurance number shall be used for the purpose of facilitating the exchange, between the Government of Canada and a province, of information obtained with respect to a self-employed person under provincial law or the Act.

76.45 The Canada Revenue Agency and the Minister of National Revenue are authorized to disclose to a province that has a plan established under a provincial law information necessary for the administration of this Part that has been obtained by that Agency or that Minister under the Act or these Regulations and any information prepared from that information.

COMING INTO FORCE 

10. These Regulations come into force on January 1, 2011.

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Footnote 1
SOR/96-332 

Resolution   Amendments   Analysis Statement