FEWO Committee Report

The self-employed are entitled to employment insurance coverage

The Bloc Québécois in its turn would like to thank the witnesses who appeared before the Committee to discuss this important issue.

Although self-employed workers now form 15.3% of the general workforce, they still have no access to the employment insurance system. Parliamentarians were sufficiently concerned about this state of affairs for the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities to recommend that the self-employed be made eligible for employment insurance coverage (recommendation 22 of the report entitled Restoring Financial Governance and Accessibility in the Employment Insurance Program, February 2005).

The Bloc Québécois considers that allowing the self-employed access to the system's special benefits without allowing them access to regular benefits is inconsistent, and is therefore calling for full access to the system's coverage for self-employed workers.

The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities also recommended eliminating the waiting period and reducing the qualifying threshold to 360 hours in all administrative regions. The Bloc Québécois defended this position on the Committee and fully endorsed the Committee's recommendations. Out of consistency and conviction, the Bloc Québécois calls on the Committee to take into account the recommendations of February 2005.

Furthermore, the special benefits (parental leave, maternity leave, compassionate leave) have always in the eyes of the Bloc Québécois and the government of Quebec been an integral part of a complete family policy, which comes within the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces.

The Bloc Québécois therefore demands for Quebec the right to opt out where these special benefits (more specifically, parental and maternal leave) are concerned once self-employed workers have access to the system, in order to ensure the protection of Quebec's insurance system for parents.

The administrative agreement with Quebec

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, which was unfavourable to Quebec, the administrative agreement signed by the federal government and the government of Quebec on March 1, 2005, still holds. However, section 6.4 of that agreement stipulates that the parties can terminate the agreement with one year's formal notice (6.4.1), and that the agreement can be modified by the written mutual consent of the parties (6.4.2).

If the federal government wanted to terminate it, the government of Quebec would have no guarantee of funding and Ottawa could use the Supreme Court ruling to extend its employment insurance system to maternity and parental benefits. The government of Quebec and the Bloc Québécois would consider this an intrusion into Quebec's jurisdictions, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

The government of Quebec and the Bloc Québécois fought for 10 years to finally have a system worthy of Quebecers' expectations, and to endorse this report would be to open the door to the possibility of federal intrusion in this area. That is why, before allowing studies that would inevitably lead to federal interference in the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces, the Bloc Québécois wants to make sure that Quebec will always retain the right to withdraw with full financial compensation, which it obtained unconditionally upon signing the final agreement last March 1.

Recommendations

The Bloc Québécois recommends that self-employed workers have access to the entire employment insurance system.

The Bloc Québécois recommends that Quebec have the right to opt out where these special benefits (more specifically, parental and maternal leave) are concerned once self-employed workers have access to the system.

The Bloc Québécois recommends that the threshold for eligibility be reduced to 360 hours for all workers–including self-employed workers–regardless of region and that the waiting period for all types of benefits be abolished. ^[1]