Employment Insurance Act
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Short title
This Act may be cited as the Employment Insurance Act .
Section 2 — Definitions
In this Act, affidavit means an affidavit sworn or affirmed before a commissioner of oaths or any other person authorized to take affidavits; ( affidavit ) benefit period means the period described…
Section 3 — Commission to assess adjustment
The Commission shall monitor and assess the impact and effectiveness, for individuals, communities and the economy, of the benefits and other assistance provided under this Act, including how the…
Section 4 — Maximum yearly insurable earnings
For the purposes of subsection 14(1.1), section 17, subsection 82(2) and sections 95 and 145, the maximum yearly insurable earnings is $39,000 until the amount calculated in accordance with…
Section 5 — Types of insurable employment
Subject to subsection (2), insurable employment is employment in Canada by one or more employers, under any express or implied contract of service or apprenticeship, written or oral, whether the…
Section 6 — Definitions
In this Part, disentitled means not entitled under section 13, 18, 21, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 49 or 50 or under the regulations; ( inadmissible ) disqualified means disqualified under section 27 or 30;…
Section 7 — Benefits payable to persons who qualify
Unemployment benefits are payable as provided in this Part to an insured person who qualifies to receive them. An insured person qualifies if the person has had an interruption of earnings from…
Section 7.1 — Increase in required hours
The number of hours that an insured person requires under section 7 to qualify for benefits is increased to the number set out in the following table in relation to the applicable regional rate of…
Section 8 — Qualifying period
Subject to subsections (2) to (7), the qualifying period of an insured person is the shorter of the 52-week period immediately before the beginning of a benefit period under subsection 10(1), and the…
Section 9 — Establishment of benefit period
When an insured person who qualifies under section 7 or 7.1 makes an initial claim for benefits, a benefit period shall be established and, once it is established, benefits are payable to the person…
Section 10 — Beginning of benefit period
A benefit period begins on the later of the Sunday of the week in which the interruption of earnings occurs, and the Sunday of the week in which the initial claim for benefits is made. Except as…
Section 11 — Week of unemployment
A week of unemployment for a claimant is a week in which the claimant does not work a full working week. A week during which a claimant’s contract of service continues and in respect of which the…
Section 12 — Benefits
If a benefit period has been established for a claimant, benefits may be paid to the claimant for each week of unemployment that falls in the benefit period, subject to the maximums established by…
Section 13 — Waiting period
A claimant is not entitled to be paid benefits in a benefit period until, after the beginning of the benefit period, the claimant has served a waiting period of one week of unemployment for which…
Section 13.1 — Presumption
For the purpose of determining a claimant’s waiting period, a week of unemployment is deemed to be a week of unemployment for which benefits would otherwise be payable if — were the week not the…
Section 14 — Rate of weekly benefits
The rate of weekly benefits payable to a claimant is 55% of their weekly insurable earnings, or 33% of their weekly insurable earnings for the weeks for which the claimant is paid benefits under…
Section 15
[Repealed, 2001, c. 5, s. 5]
Section 16 — Rate increase — family supplement
The rate of weekly benefits of a claimant who has one or more dependent children shall be increased by the amount of a family supplement determined in accordance with the regulations if the claimant…
Section 17 — Maximum rate of weekly benefits
The maximum rate of weekly benefits is 55 % of the maximum yearly insurable earnings divided by 52.
Section 18 — Availability for work, etc.
A claimant is not entitled to be paid benefits for a working day in a benefit period for which the claimant fails to prove that on that day the claimant was capable of and available for work and…
Section 19 — Earnings in waiting period
If a claimant has earnings during their waiting period, an amount not exceeding those earnings shall, as prescribed, be deducted from the benefits payable for the first three weeks for which benefits…
Section 20 — Deduction for excluded days in waiting period
If a claimant is not entitled to receive benefits for a working day in their waiting period, an amount equal to 1/5 of their weekly rate of benefits for each such working day shall be deducted from…
Section 21 — Illness, etc. — minor attachment claimants
A minor attachment claimant who ceases work because of illness, injury or quarantine is not entitled to receive benefits while unable to work for that reason. If benefits are payable to a claimant as…
Section 22 — Pregnancy
Despite section 18, but subject to this section, benefits are payable to a major attachment claimant who proves her pregnancy. Subject to section 12, benefits are payable to a major attachment…
Section 23 — Parental benefits
Despite section 18, but subject to this section, benefits are payable to a major attachment claimant to care for one or more new-born children of the claimant or one or more children placed with the…
Section 23.1
[Repealed, 2017, c. 20, s. 236] Despite section 18, but subject to this section, benefits are payable to a major attachment claimant if a medical doctor or nurse practitioner has issued a certificate…
Section 23.2 — Benefits — critically ill child
Despite section 18, but subject to this section, benefits are payable to a major attachment claimant who is a family member of a critically ill child in order to care for or support that child, if a…
Section 23.3 — Benefits — critically ill adult
Despite section 18, but subject to this section, benefits are payable to a major attachment claimant who is a family member of a critically ill adult, in order to care for or support that adult, if a…
Section 24 — Regulations for work-sharing benefits
The Commission may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, make regulations providing for the payment of work-sharing benefits to claimants who are qualified to receive benefits under this Act…
Section 25 — Status of claimants
For the purposes of this Part, a claimant is unemployed and capable of and available for work during a period when the claimant is attending a course or program of instruction or training — at the…
Section 26 — Benefits are not earnings
For the purposes of this Part, Part IV, the Income Tax Act and the Canada Pension Plan , benefits paid to a claimant while employed under an employment support measure — other than one referred to in…
Section 27 — Disqualification — general
A claimant is disqualified from receiving benefits under this Part if, without good cause since the interruption of earnings giving rise to the claim, the claimant has not applied for a suitable…
Section 28 — Duration of disqualification
A disqualification under section 27 is for the number of weeks that the Commission may determine, but the number of weeks of a disqualification arising under paragraph 27(1)(a) or (b) shall be not…
Section 29 — Interpretation
For the purposes of sections 30 to 33, employment refers to any employment of the claimant within their qualifying period or their benefit period; loss of employment includes a suspension from…
Section 30 — Disqualification — misconduct or leaving without just cause
A claimant is disqualified from receiving any benefits if the claimant lost any employment because of their misconduct or voluntarily left any employment without just cause, unless the claimant has,…
Section 31 — Disentitlement — suspension for misconduct
A claimant who is suspended from their employment because of their misconduct is not entitled to receive benefits until the period of suspension expires; the claimant loses or voluntarily leaves the…
Section 32 — Disentitlement — period of leave without just cause
A claimant who voluntarily takes a period of leave from their employment without just cause is not entitled to receive benefits if, before or after the beginning of the period of leave, the period of…
Section 33 — Disentitlement — anticipated loss of employment
A claimant is not entitled to receive benefits if the claimant loses an employment because of their misconduct or voluntarily leaves without just cause within three weeks before the expiration of a…
Section 34 — Suspension of disentitlement
A disentitlement under sections 31 to 33 is suspended during any week for which the claimant is otherwise entitled to special benefits.
Section 35 — Exception
Notwithstanding anything in this Part, no claimant is disqualified or disentitled under sections 30 to 33 from receiving benefits only because the claimant left or refused to accept employment if, by…
Section 36 — Labour disputes
Subject to the regulations, if a claimant loses an employment, or is unable to resume an employment, because of a work stoppage attributable to a labour dispute at the factory, workshop or other…
Section 37 — Prison inmates and persons outside Canada
Except as may otherwise be prescribed, a claimant is not entitled to receive benefits for any period during which the claimant is an inmate of a prison or similar institution; or is not in Canada.
Section 38 — Penalty for claimants, etc.
The Commission may impose on a claimant, or any other person acting for a claimant, a penalty for each of the following acts or omissions if the Commission becomes aware of facts that in its opinion…
Section 39 — Penalty for employers, etc.
The Commission may impose on an employer, or any other person acting for an employer or pretending to be or act for an employer, a penalty for each of the following acts if the Commission becomes…
Section 40 — Limitation on imposition of penalties
A penalty shall not be imposed under section 38 or 39 if a prosecution for the act or omission has been initiated against the employee, employer or other person; or 36 months have passed since the…
Section 41 — Rescission, etc., of penalty
The Commission may rescind the imposition of a penalty under section 38 or 39, or reduce the penalty, on the presentation of new facts or on being satisfied that the penalty was imposed without…
Section 41.1 — Warning
The Commission may issue a warning instead of setting the amount of a penalty for an act or omission under subsection 38(2) or 39(2). Notwithstanding paragraph 40(b), a warning may be issued within…
Section 42 — Benefits not assignable
Subject to subsections (2) and (3), benefits are not capable of being assigned, charged, attached, anticipated or given as security and any transaction appearing to do so is void. Any amounts payable…
Section 43 — Liability for overpayments
A claimant is liable to repay an amount paid by the Commission to the claimant as benefits for any period for which the claimant is disqualified; or to which the claimant is not entitled.
Section 44 — Liability to return overpayment
A person who has received or obtained a benefit payment to which the person is disentitled, or a benefit payment in excess of the amount to which the person is entitled, shall without delay return…