Section 69 — Employment Insurance Act: Premium reduction — wage-loss plans

The Commission shall, with the approval of the Governor in Council, make regulations to provide a system for reducing the employer’s premium when the payment of any allowances, money or other benefits because of illness, injury, quarantine, pregnancy, child care, compassionate care, a child’s critical illness or an adult’s critical illness under a plan that covers insured persons employed by the employer, other than one established under a provincial law, would have the effect of reducing the special benefits payable to the insured persons; and the insured persons will benefit from the reduction of the employer’s premium in an amount at least equal to 5/12 of the reduction. The Commission shall, with the approval of the Governor in Council, make regulations to provide a system for reducing the employer’s and employee’s premiums, the premiums under Part VII.1 or all those premiums, when the payment of any allowances, money or other benefits because of illness, injury, quarantine, pregnancy, child care, compassionate care, a child’s critical illness or an adult’s critical illness under a provincial law to insured persons, or to self-employed persons, as the case may be, would have the effect of reducing or eliminating the special benefits payable to those insured persons or the benefits payable to those self-employed persons. The regulations may include provisions prescribing the manner and time for making an application for a premium reduction; prescribing the standards that must be met by a plan to qualify for a premium reduction and the time during which the plan must be in effect; prescribing the method for determining the amount of reduction for plans that meet the prescribed standards and the use to be made of actuarial calculations and estimates; prescribing the manner in which insured persons are to benefit from the premium reduction; providing for the making of decisions relating to premium reduction and appeals in cases of dispute; prescribing how the insured earnings of insured persons will be reported by employers to the Canada Revenue Agency; and generally, providing for any other matters necessary for carrying out the purposes and provisions of subsections (1) and (2). If an application for an employer’s premium reduction is made within 36 months after the time prescribed for making it, the Commission may, subject to prescribed conditions, regard the application as having been made at the prescribed time if the applicant shows that there was good cause for the delay throughout the period beginning at the prescribed time and ending on the day when the application was made. The Commission may reconsider any decision relating to an employer’s premium reduction within 36 months after the date of the decision and any new decision that it makes shall apply in place of the reconsidered decision. The reference to the payment of allowances, money or other benefits because of compassionate care in subsections (1) and (2) means the payment of allowances, money or other benefits for the same or substantially the same reasons for which benefits are payable under section 23.1. The reference to the payment of allowances, money or other benefits because of a child’s critical illness in subsections (1) and (2) means the payment of allowances, money or other benefits for the same or substantially the same reasons for which benefits are payable under section 23.2. The reference to the payment of allowances, money or other benefits because of an adult’s critical illness in subsections (1) and (2) means the payment of allowances, money or other benefits for the same or substantially the same reasons for which benefits are payable under section 23.3.