RECOMMENDATION 1

The Committee recommends that the federal government review the eligibility requirement for “valid job separation” to allow employment insurance claimants who find a new job during the benefits period to retain their EI benefits should the employment not be suitable.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Committee recommends that the federal government take immediate action to eliminate the eligibility requirement of 910 hours of insurable employment for new entrants and re-entrants to the labour market.

RECOMMENDATION 3

The Committee recommends that the federal government take immediate steps to reinstate the job search responsibilities requirements and the obligation to accept suitable employment that were in effect prior to 2013.

RECOMMENDATION 4

The Committee recommends that Employment and Social Development Canada increase its efforts to promote the responsibilities claimants have to look for a job and to accept suitable employment, as appropriate.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Committee recommends that Employment and Social Development Canada strongly encourage EI claimants to sign up for the Job Alerts of Job Bank; and that the department explore the possibility of making the sign up automatic for EI claimants.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Committee recommends that the federal government reconsider the new employment insurance economic regions created in 2014, and that previous boundaries be restored.

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Committee recommends that the federal government explore increasing the maximum number of weeks of employment insurance sickness benefits.

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Committee recommends that Employment and Social Development Canada hold consultations with relevant stakeholders to determine whether all special benefits should remain part of the Employment Insurance program or be administered separately.

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Committee recommends that Employment and Social Development Canada implement measures to raise awareness of the Work-Sharing program in order to increase the program participation.

RECOMMENDATION 10

The Committee recommends that Employment and Social Development Canada take immediate steps to ensure that:

• during the extension period announced in Budget 2016, the choice between the current and previous versions of the “Working While on Claim” pilot project is completely free and not governed by specific eligibility criteria;
• the Government of Canada website and Service Canada agents provide the necessary information claimants need to choose the better of the two versions of the pilot project for their situation; and
• at the end of the extension period for the current pilot project in August 2018, a complete assessment of the pilot project be undertaken, the results shared with the Committee by February 2019, and made public.

RECOMMENDATION 11

The Committee recommends that the federal government provide Service Canada with the resources required so that:

• they can handle the vast majority of calls and in-person visits quickly;
• they endeavour to make the first payment in the 28 days following the date the application was completed, in order to meet the established service standards.

RECOMMENDATION 12

The Committee recommends that the federal government reinstate the system of regional employment insurance liaison agents to improve support for unemployed individuals who wish to apply or have applied for benefits.

RECOMMENDATION 13

The Committee recommends that Employment and Social Development Canada undertake a review of the new Social Security Tribunal (SST) to determine:

• how it compares with the previous system in terms of costs, efficiency, and client satisfaction;
• how the SST can improve transparency, by providing claimants with all the evidence on which its decisions are based, and making all of its decisions public;
• how the SST could improve efficiency with more resources;
• the impacts of facilitating hearings in-person, or via videoconference, at both the first and second appeal stages;
• the impacts of setting a limit on the amount of time the SST takes to issue decisions.

RECOMMENDATION 14

The Committee recommends that Employment and Social Development Canada establish a process whereby workers and employers can give input to the decision-making process that leads to the setting of the premium rate.

RECOMMENDATION 15

The Committee recommends that the federal government explore mechanisms to see that funds collected for the purpose of employment insurance serve the needs of the Employment Insurance program.