HUMA Committee Report

APPENDIX A — Remaining Recommendations
of the Subcommittee on Employment Insurance
Funds to be Studied by the Main Committee

Recommendation 9

The Committee recommends that the current cost-sharing arrangement between employers and employees be maintained.

Recommendation 10

The Committee recommends that the government implement a uniform 360 hours qualification requirement, irrespective of regional unemployment rates or the type of benefit. This would establish a qualification requirement based on a 30-hour week over a 12-week period.

Recommendation 11

The Committee recommends that the maximum benefit entitlement for regular benefits be extended to 50 weeks, the same as that afforded special benefits.

Recommendation 12

The Committee recommends that following an assessment of the pilot project that extends benefit entitlement by five weeks in high-unemployment areas of the country, the government, following consultations with the proposed Employment Insurance Commission, modify benefit entitlement so as to provide an additional incentive to work for a longer period of time than the minimum hours of work required to qualify for benefits.

Recommendation 13

The Committee recommends that the proposed Employment Insurance Commission consult program contributors and report to the government on the feasibility of providing a supplementary benefit beyond the proposed 50-week maximum period so as to help unemployed workers 50 years of age and over cope with extended periods of unemployment. The amount of the supplementary benefit and its duration should depend on lifetime contributions to employment insurance.

Recommendation 14

The Committee recommends that the government repeal the current method of calculating average weekly insurable earnings and in its place adopt a new rate calculation period equal to the qualifying period. Only those weeks with the highest earnings in the new rate calculation period would be included, and these earnings would be averaged over the best 12 weeks of insurable employment.

Recommendation 15

The Committee recommends that the government increase the benefit rate from 55% to 60% of average weekly insurable earnings. 

Recommendation 16

The Committee recommends that the government, following consultations with the proposed Employment Insurance Commission, establish a nation-wide pilot project to assess the impact of a variable benefit rate that ranges from between 61% to 65% of average weekly insurable earnings, depending on the number of insurable hours worked in excess of the minimum hourly qualification requirement.

Recommendation 17

The Committee recommends that following the completion of the evaluation that is currently underway to assess the effectiveness of Employment Benefits and Support Measures, the federal government use this information, to the greatest extent possible, to ensure that spending under the next generation of labour market development agreements focuses exclusively on those measures that have achieved their intended results.¹ In addition, the federal government must negotiate with provincial and territorial governments to establish an appeal process for individuals who are denied access to Employment Benefits and Support Measures.

Recommendation 18

The Committee recommends that the Employment Insurance Act be amended to include mobility assistance in Employment Benefits and Support Measures. Mobility assistance would only be paid once a job is verified and confirmed. As with other Employment Benefits and Support Measures, this assistance would be based on voluntary participation.

Recommendation 19

The Committee recommends that the government amend section 78 of the Employment Insurance Act to require that at least  0.8% of estimated total insurable earnings be allocated to Employment Benefits and Support Measures and that the additional funding that results from this be used to provide meaningful training to those who qualify under a more inclusive definition of “insured participant” pursuant to section 58 of the Employment Insurance Act.

Recommendation 20

The Committee recommends that the government initiate a pilot project to assess the effectiveness of providing a premium refund to employers who: (1) provide training to alleviate skill shortages; (2) incur training costs while replacing workers receiving maternity/parental benefits; (3) provide training to seasonal and older workers; and (4) provide workplace literacy training to their employees. If the pilot project finds this training incentive to be effective then it should become a regular feature of the Employment Insurance Program and its cost should not be included as part of the expenditure limit contained in section 78 of the Employment Insurance Act.

Recommendation 21

The Committee recommends that the government amend the Employment Insurance Act to exempt foreign agricultural workers and their employers from making contributions to employment insurance.

Recommendation 22

In view of the growing incidence of self-employment in the Canadian labour market, the Committee recommends that the government consider developing a framework for extending EI coverage, both in terms of regular and special benefits, to self-employed workers.

Recommendation 23

The Committee recommends that the government amend the Employment Insurance Regulations so as to not consider pension, severance and vacation income in the determination of earnings for benefit purposes.

Recommendation 24

The Committee recommends that the government amend subsection 5(3) (and if necessary, section 5(2)(i)) of the Employment Insurance Act with a view to remove the presumption of guilt if an employer and an employee are related.

Recommendation 25

The Committee recommends that the government ensure that every regional office in the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development employ a claimant’s advocate.

Recommendation 26

The Committee recommends that the two-week waiting period be eliminated for those engaged in approved training.

Recommendation 27

The Committee recommends that the government study the possibility of extending sickness benefits by 35 weeks for those who suffer from a prolonged and serious illness.

Recommendation 28

The Committee recommends that the government study the possibility of extending compassionate care benefits for families whose children must receive medical attention outside of the locality in which they reside.

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1	The Bloc Québécois maintains that the federal government must respect the Quebec-Ottawa accords on labour market development.