Employment Insurance Regulations - Amendments

The following information is out of date.

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1. The Employment Insurance Regulations¹ are amended by adding the following after section 77:

Temporary Adjustment Project for the Exclusion of Low-earning Weeks in the Calculation of Weekly Benefit Rates

      77.1 (1) The Commission shall establish Pilot Project No. 2 for the purpose of assessing the costs and operational impact of and the effect on the rate of weekly benefits obtained by excluding low-earning weeks from the calculation of the insurable earnings of a claimant under section 14 of the Act and whether the resulting change in the calculation of the rate of weekly benefits payable to a claimant increases the incentive for claimants to accept short-term or part-time work.

      (2) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

"low-earning week" means

a week beginning on or after January 1, 1997 in which a claimant had less than $150 of insurable earnings, excluding monies paid or payable by reason of lay-off or separation from employment.

"regular-earning week" means

(a) a week of insurable employment of a claimant beginning before January 1, 1997, other than a fishing insured week within the meaning of section 83 of the Unemployment Insurance Regulations as that section read on the day on which that week began; or

(b) a week beginning on or after January 1, 1997 in which a claimant had $150 or more of insurable earnings, excluding monies paid or payable by reason of lay-off or separation from employment.

      (3) For the purposes of the definitions "low-earning week" and"regular-earning week" in subsection (2), insurable earnings do not include

(a) in the case of a week beginning before January 5, 1997, earnings of a fisherman referred to in section 78 of the Unemployment Insurance Regulations as that section read on the day on which that week began; and

(b) in the case of a week beginning on or after January 5, 1997, insurable earnings of a fisher referred to in subsection 5(5) of the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations.

(4) A claimant shall be included in Pilot Project No. 2 if the claimant

(a) is a claimant in respect of whom a benefit period has been established under Part I of the Act

(i) on or after May 4, 1997 and who ordinarily resides in the regions of Northern Ontario, Northern Manitoba, Northern Saskatchewan or the Yukon-Northwest Territories as set out in Schedule I, or

(ii) on or after August 31, 1997 and who ordinarily resides in the regions of Eastern Ontario, North Central Ontario, Niagara, Huron, Southern Interior British Columbia, Southern Coastal British Columbia or Northern British Columbia as set out in Schedule I; and

(b) has at least one regular-earning week in the rate calculation period and the aggregate of the claimant's low-earning weeks and regular- earnings weeks in the rate calculation period is greater than the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act.

      (5) For the purpose of determining the insurable earnings of a claimant in the rate calculation period under subsection 14(3) of the Act and the divisor under subsection 14(2) of the Act, low-earning weeks shall be excluded under Pilot Project No. 2 as follows

(a) if the claimant has accumulated a number of regular-earning weeks in the rate calculation period that is equal to or greater than the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act,

(i) the claimant's low-earning weeks shall be excluded when determining the divisor in accordance with subsection 14(2) of the Act, and

(ii) the insurable earnings for those low-earning weeks shall be excluded when determining the claimant's insurable earnings in the rate calculation period; and

(b) if the claimant has accumulated a number of regular-earning weeks in the rate calculation period that is less than the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act,

(i) a sufficient number of the claimant's low-earning weeks with the highest amount of insurable earnings shall be added to the claimant's regular-earning weeks to equal the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act, and

(ii) the claimant's insurable earnings in the rate calculation period shall be the total insurable earnings for the claimant's regular- earning weeks and for the claimant's low-earning weeks that were added under subparagraph (i), and the divisor shall be the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act.

      (6) For greater certainty, the implementation of Pilot Project No. 2 does not affect the insurability of the claimant's employment, the collection of premiums for the purposes of the Insurable Earnings and Collection of Premium Regulations or the application of sections 7, 7.1 and 12 and subsection 14(4) of the Act.

      (7) Pilot Project No. 2 does not apply in respect of a benefit period established after November 14, 1998.

Temporary Adjustment Project for the Consolidation of Low- earning Weeks and Regular-earning Weeks in the Calculation of Weekly Benefit Rates

      77.2 (1) The Commission shall establish Pilot Project No. 3 for the purpose of assessing the costs and operational impact of and the effect on the rate of weekly benefit obtained by consolidating low-earning weeks with regular-earning weeks for the purpose of calculating the insurable earnings of a claimant under section 14 of the Act and whether such consolidation increases the incentive for claimants to accept short-term or part-time work.

      (2) In this section, "low-earning week" and "regular-earning week" have the same meaning as in section 77.1.

      (3) A claimant shall be included in Pilot Project No. 3 if the claimant

(a) is a claimant in respect of whom a benefit period has been established under Part I of the Act

(i) on or after May 4, 1997 and who ordinarily resides in the regions of Eastern Quebec, Central Quebec, Western Quebec, Northern Quebec, Eastern Nova Scotia, Central Nova Scotia, Yarmouth, Restigouche-Charlotte, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland/Labrador as set out in Schedule I; and

(ii) on or after August 31, 1997 and who ordinarily resides in the regions of Quebec, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Montreal, Chicoutimi-Jonquière, Kings, Fredericton-Moncton-Saint-John or St.John's as set out in Schedule I; and

(b) has not less than one regular-earning week in the rate calculation period and the aggregate of the claimant's low-earning weeks and regular earning weeks in the rate calculation period is greater than the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act.

      (4) For the purpose of determining the divisor under subsection 14(2) of the Act, low-earning weeks and regular-earning weeks shall be consolidated under Pilot Project No. 3 as follows:

      (a) If the claimant has accumulated a number of regular-earning weeks in the rate calculation period that is equal to or greater than the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act,

      (i) the total insurable earnings for the claimant's low-earning weeks shall be divided by the weekly average of the insurable earnings for the claimant's regular-earning weeks, and

(ii) the result determined under subparagraph (i), ignoring any fractions, shall be added to the claimant's regular-earning weeks, and the resulting amount shall be the divisor to be used for the purposes of subsection 14(2) of the Act; and

(b) if the claimant has accumulated a number of regular-earning weeks in the rate calculation period that is less than the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act,

(i) a sufficient number of the claimant's low-earning weeks with the highest amount of insurable earnings shall be added to the claimant's regular-earning weeks to equal the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act,

(ii) the total insurable earnings for the claimant's low-earning weeks remaining after the application of subparagraph (i) shall be divided by the weekly average of the insurable earnings for the claimant's low-earning weeks that were added under subparagraph (i) and the claimant's regular-earning weeks, and

(iii) the result determined under subparagraph (ii), ignoring any fractions, shall be added to the applicable divisor set out in the table to paragraph 14(2)(b) of the Act, and the resulting amount shall be the divisor for the purposes of subsection 14(2) of the Act.

      (5) For the purpose of subsection 14(3) of the Act, the insurable earnings of a claimant in the rate calculation period shall be the total insurable earnings of the claimant for that period less the amount that is the result of

A - (B x C)

where
        (a) in the case of a claimant referred to in paragraph (4)(a),

A      is the total insurable earnings for the claimant's low-earning weeks,

B      is the weekly average of the insurable earnings for the claimant's         regular-earning weeks, and

C      is the result determined under subparagraph (4)(a)(i), ignoring any         fractions; and

        (b) in the case of a claimant referred to in paragraph (4)(b),

A      is the total insurable earnings for the claimant's low-earning weeks         remaining after the application of subparagraph (4)(b)(i),

B      is the weekly average of the insurable earnings for the claimant's low-
        earning weeks that were added under subparagraph (4)(b)(i) and the         regular-earning weeks referred to in that subparagraph, and

C      is the result determined under subparagraph (4)(b)(ii), ignoring any         fractions.

(6) For greater certainty,

(a) the implementation of Pilot Project No. 3 does not affect the application of sections 7, 7.1, 12, and subsection 14(4) of the Act; and

(b) consolidation only reduces the divisor as determined under subsection 14(2) of the Act by reducing the number of weeks with insurable earnings in the rate calculation period.

(7) Pilot Project No. 3 does not apply in respect of a benefit period established after November 14, 1998.

2. Schedule I to the Regulations is amended by replacing the reference "(Subsection 18(1)" after the heading "SCHEDULE I" with the following:

(Subsection 18(1) and sections 77.1 and 77.2)

COMING INTO FORCE

3. These Regulations come into force on May 4, 1997.

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¹ SOR/96-332