Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332)

• 55.01 (1) A self-employed person is not disentitled from receiving benefits for the reason that the self-employed person is outside Canada

  • (a) for the purpose of undergoing, at a hospital, medical clinic or similar facility outside Canada, medical treatment that is not readily or immediately available in the self-employed person’s area of residence in Canada, if the hospital, clinic or facility is accredited to provide the medical treatment by the appropriate governmental authority outside Canada;

  • (b) for a period of not more than seven consecutive days to attend the funeral of a member of the self-employed person’s immediate family or of one of the following persons, namely,

    • (i) a grandparent of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner,

    • (ii) a grandchild of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner,

    • (iii) the spouse or common-law partner of the self-employed person’s son or daughter or of the son or daughter of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner,

    • (iv) the spouse or common-law partner of a child of the self-employed person’s father or mother or of a child of the spouse or common-law partner of the self-employed person’s father or mother,

    • (v) a child of the father or mother of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner or a child of the spouse or common-law partner of the father or mother of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner,

    • (vi) an uncle or aunt of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner, and

    • (vii) a nephew or niece of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (c) for a period of not more than seven consecutive days to accompany a member of the self-employed person’s immediate family to a hospital, medical clinic or similar facility outside Canada for medical treatment that is not readily or immediately available in the family member’s area of residence in Canada, if the hospital, clinic or facility is accredited to provide the medical treatment by the appropriate governmental authority outside Canada; or

  • (d) for a period of not more than seven consecutive days to visit a member of the self-employed person’s immediate family who is seriously ill or injured.

• (1.1) Only the periods set out in paragraphs (1)(b) and (d) may be cumulated during a single trip outside Canada, and only if the member of the self-employed person’s immediate family whom the self-employed person visits under paragraph (1)(d) is the person whose funeral the self-employed person attends under paragraph (1)(b).

• (2) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (1.1), the following persons are considered to be members of the self-employed person’s immediate family:

  • (a) the father and mother of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (b) the spouse or common-law partner of the father or mother of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (c) the foster parent of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (d) a child of the self-employed person’s father or mother or a child of the spouse or common-law partner of the self-employed person’s father or mother;

  • (e) the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (f) a child of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (g) a ward of the self-employed person or of the self-employed person’s spouse or common-law partner; and

  • (h) a dependant or relative residing in the self-employed person’s household or a relative with whom the self-employed person permanently resides.

• (3) A self-employed person is not disentitled from receiving benefits in respect of pregnancy, the care of a child or children referred to in subsection 152.05(1) of the Act or the care or support of a family member referred to in subsection 152.06(1) of the Act, of a critically ill child or of a critically ill adult for the sole reason that the self-employed person is outside Canada, unless their Social Insurance Number Card or the period of validity of their Social Insurance Number has expired.

Provision of Information

55.1 Employers who participate in a program to enable the Commission to substantiate proof provided to it by claimants in respect of their fulfilment of conditions for receiving or continuing to receive benefits shall provide, electronically on a monthly basis, the following information to the Commission in respect of their employees:

• (a) dates of commencement of employment;

• (b) periods of employment; and

• (c) amounts earned during employment.

Ratification of Amounts Paid to Persons While Not Entitled

55.2 The Commission may ratify the amounts paid

• (a) to claimants whose benefit period was established in the period beginning on January 4, 2009 and ending on September 11, 2010 following a claim for special benefits; and

• (b) for a week that is after the expiry of the benefit period that should have been established with respect to them under subsection 10(2) of the Act, as it read on October 25, 2009.

Write-off of Amounts Wrongly Paid, Penalties and Interest

• 56 (1) A penalty owing under section 38, 39 or 65.1 of the Act or an amount payable under section 43, 45, 46, 46.1 or 65 of the Act, or the interest accrued on the penalty or amount, may be written off by the Commission if

  • (a) the total of the penalties and amounts, including the interest accrued on those penalties and amounts, owing by the debtor to Her Majesty under any program administered by the Department of Employment and Social Development does not exceed $100, a benefit period is not currently running in respect of the debtor and the debtor is not currently making regular payments on a repayment plan;

  • (b) the debtor is deceased;

  • (c) the debtor is a discharged bankrupt;

  • (d) the debtor is an undischarged bankrupt in respect of whom the final dividend has been paid and the trustee has been discharged;

  • (e) the overpayment does not arise from an error made by the debtor or as a result of a false or misleading declaration or representation made by the debtor, whether the debtor knew it to be false or misleading or not, but arises from

    • (i) a retrospective decision or ruling made under Part IV of the Act, or

    • (ii) a retrospective decision made under Part I or IV of the Act in relation to benefits paid under section 25 of the Act; or

  • (f) the Commission considers that, having regard to all the circumstances,

    • (i) the penalty or amount, or the interest accrued on it, is uncollectable,

    • (ii) the repayment of the penalty or amount, or the interest accrued on it, would result in undue hardship to the debtor, or

    • (iii) the administrative costs of collecting the penalty or amount, or the interest accrued on it, would likely equal or exceed the penalty, amount or interest to be collected.

• (2) The portion of an amount owing under section 47 or 65 of the Act in respect of benefits received more than 12 months before the Commission notifies the debtor of the overpayment, including the interest accrued on it, may be written off by the Commission if

  • (a) the overpayment does not arise from an error made by the debtor or as a result of a false or misleading declaration or representation made by the debtor, whether the debtor knew it to be false or misleading or not; and

  • (b) the overpayment arises as a result of

    • (i) a delay or error made by the Commission in processing a claim for benefits,

    • (ii) retrospective control procedures or a retrospective review initiated by the Commission,

    • (iii) an error made on the record of employment by the employer,

    • (iv) an incorrect calculation by the employer of the debtor's insurable earnings or hours of insurable employment, or

    • (v) an error in insuring the employment or other activity of the debtor.

Interest on Amounts Owing to Her Majesty

• 56.1 (1) The following definitions apply in this section.

  average bank rate

  average bank rate means the simple arithmetic mean of the bank rates that are established during the month before the month in respect of which interest is being calculated. (taux d'escompte moyen)

  bank rate

  bank rate means the rate of interest established weekly by the Bank of Canada as the minimum rate at which the Bank of Canada makes short-term advances to members of the Canadian Payments Association. (taux d'escompte)

  debt arising from an act or omission

  debt arising from an act or omission means an amount payable under section 43, 45, 46, 46.1 or 65 of the Act in respect of which a penalty was imposed under section 38, 39 or 65.1 of the Act or a warning was issued under section 41.1 of the Act or in respect of which a prosecution was undertaken under section 135 or 136 of the Act or under the Criminal Code, and includes an amount payable under section 38, 39 or 65.1 of the Act and an amount payable as a result of the judgment of a court. (dette résultant d'un acte délictueux)

• (2) If an appeal in respect of a penalty imposed under section 38, 39 or 65.1 of the Act or of a warning issued under section 41.1 of the Act results in the rescinding of the penalty or warning or if a claimant is eventually acquitted in a prosecution under section 135 or 136 of the Act or under the Criminal Code, the debt that was the subject of the decision is not a debt arising from an act or omission.

• (3) Interest accrues, at a rate that is calculated daily and compounded monthly at the average bank rate plus three per cent, on all debts arising from an act or omission and owing to Her Majesty under section 47 or 65.2 of the Act on or after the day this section comes into force.

• (4) The accrual of interest on an amount owing to Her Majesty under section 47 or 65.2 of the Act, at the rate set out in subsection (3), begins on the day on which the debtor is notified of the amount owing.

• (5) Subject to subsection (6), interest does not accrue on an amount owing to Her Majesty under section 47 or 65.2 of the Act during the period in which an appeal or other review of the decision that gave rise to the obligation to pay that amount is pending.

• (6) An appeal or other review referred to in subsection (5) does not include the reconsideration of a decision by the Commission under section 41, 52 or 111 of the Act.

• (7) The accrual of interest on an amount owing to Her Majesty under section 47 or 65.2 of the Act ceases on the day on which

  • (a) repayment of the amount owed to Her Majesty and any interest accrued on that amount is received by Her Majesty or a duly authorized agent of Her Majesty;

  • (b) the debtor dies;

  • (c) the amount owed is written off under section 56; or

  • (d) the accrued interest is written off under section 56.

• (8) The Commission may waive or reduce the amount of interest provided for in this section if

  • (a) the administrative costs of collecting the interest owing would exceed the amount of that interest;

  • (b) the interest is payable in respect of an amount in dispute where the dispute has been settled, in whole or in part, in favour of the debtor; or

  • (c) the accrual of interest on a particular penalty or amount owing would result in undue hardship to the debtor.

Deductions from Benefits for Payments to Governments and Authorities

• 57 (1) In this section, deduction means a deduction from benefits that is made by the Commission pursuant to subsection 42(3) of the Act.

• (2) No deduction shall be made in respect of any advance or assistance or welfare payment paid by the Government of Canada or any of its agencies, a provincial or municipal government or any other authority prescribed by this section, unless

  • (a) an arrangement has been entered into between the Commission and the Government of Canada or any of its agencies, the provincial government or the municipal government or the prescribed authority in respect of the deduction; and

  • (b) the person to whom the payment is made has consented pursuant to subsection 42(3) of the Act to the deduction by signing the form supplied by the Commission.

• (3) The Commission may at any time terminate an arrangement entered into pursuant to subsection (2).

• (4) The council of an Indian band, referred to as a council of the band in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act, is a prescribed authority for the purposes of subsection 42(3) of the Act.

PART IINational Employment Service

58 The national employment service maintained by the Commission under subsections 60(1) and (2) of the Act shall, for the purpose of facilitating the fullest possible integration into the Canadian work force of persons who need assistance in competing in the labour market, in cooperation with interested public authorities, employers, unions and organizations representing industries and industrial sectors,

• (a) collect and analyse the available information on the situation of the labour market, including information on labour market supply and demand, the economic and employment situations of individuals, families and communities, career and learning trends, and social and community conditions, and its probable evolution, both in Canada as a whole and in different industries, occupations and areas;

• (b) make that information available systematically and promptly to interested public authorities, the employers' and workers' organizations concerned and the general public;

• (c) help workers find suitable employment by

  • (i) making available to them information on employment opportunities locally, regionally and nationally, including information on specific job openings as well as general information on careers and occupations that are in demand in the labour market and the educational and skill requirements for those careers or occupations,

  • (ii) where appropriate, referring them to other sources of labour market information such as social service agencies and community employment services organizations,

  • (iii) obtaining from workers seeking employment such information as is necessary to effect proper referrals to employment opportunities within Canada and abroad,

  • (iv) in accordance with local community-based service and client targeting strategies, interviewing and counselling workers, when necessary, to assess their employment needs and assist them to develop action plans in order to address those needs, and

  • (v) providing them with information on the availability of special assistance where they are experiencing particular difficulty obtaining or keeping employment; and

• (d) help employers find suitable workers by

  • (i) obtaining from them information on job vacancies and such information as is necessary to effect proper referrals of workers to the employers,

  • (ii) advising them on various ways to meet their employment needs, and

  • (iii) making available to them information on workers searching for employment.

59 The national employment service shall be made available at no cost to all workers whether insured or not or whether they are claiming unemployment benefits or not, and to all employers, workers' organizations and interested public and private organizations providing employment assistance services to workers.

PART IIIReduction of Premium for Employers with Wage-Loss Plans

Interpretation

60 The definition in this section applies to this Part.

plan

plan means a wage-loss plan that covers insured persons employed by an employer, and includes a Weekly Indemnity Plan, a Special Weekly Indemnity Plan, a Cumulative Paid Sick Leave Plan and an Enhanced Cumulative Paid Sick Leave Plan referred to in sections 63, 64, 65 and 66, respectively. (régime)