Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations (Pilot Project No. 22): SOR/2023-272

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 157, Number 26

Registration
SOR/2023-272 December 8, 2023

EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT

P.C. 2023-1222 December 8, 2023

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations (Pilot Project No. 22) under section 109 of the Employment Insurance Act footnote a.

November 28, 2023

Paul Thompson
Chairperson
Canada Employment Insurance Commission

Pierre Laliberté
Commissioner (Workers)
Canada Employment Insurance Commission

Nancy Healey
Commissioner (Employers)
Canada Employment Insurance Commission

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development under section 109 of the Employment Insurance Act footnote a, approves the annexed Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations (Pilot Project No. 22) made by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.

Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations (Pilot Project No. 22)

Amendments

1 The Employment Insurance Regulations footnote 1 are amended by adding the following after section 77.992:

Pilot Project to Provide Additional Weeks of Benefits to Seasonal Workers as a Result of Low Unemployment Rates

77.993 (1) Pilot Project No. 22 is established for the purpose of testing whether certain claimants who meet the conditions set out in subsection 12(2.3) of the Act require more additional weeks of benefits as a result of low unemployment rates.

(2) Pilot Project No. 22 applies to every claimant whose benefit period is established in the period beginning on September 10, 2023 and ending on September 7, 2024 and who meets the conditions set out in subsection 12(2.3) of the Act.

(3) For the purposes of Pilot Project No. 22, the reference to “Schedule V” in the portion of subsection 12(2.3) of the Act before paragraph (a) shall be read as a reference to “Schedule II.94 of the Employment Insurance Regulations”.

2 The Regulations are amended by adding, after Schedule II.93, the Schedule II.94 set out in the schedule to these Regulations.

Coming into Force

3 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

SCHEDULE

(Section 2)

SCHEDULE II.94

(Subsection 77.993(3))

Table of Weeks of Benefits for Pilot Project No. 22
Number of hours of insurable employment in qualifying period Regional Unemployment Rate
6% and under More than 6% but not more than 7% More than 7% but not more than 8% More than 8% but not more than 9% More than 9% but not more than 10% More than 10% but not more than 11% More than 11% but not more than 12% More than 12% but not more than 13% More than 13% but not more than 14% More than 14% but not more than 15% More than 15% but not more than 16% More than 16%
420 - 454 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 37 39 41
455 - 489 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 35 37 39 41
490 - 524 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 34 36 38 40 42
525 - 559 0 0 0 0 0 30 32 34 36 38 40 42
560 - 594 0 0 0 0 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43
595 - 629 0 0 0 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43
630 - 664 0 0 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44
665 - 699 0 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44
700 - 734 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45
735 - 769 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45
770 - 804 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45
805 - 839 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45
840 - 874 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45
875 - 909 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45
910 - 944 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45
945 - 979 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45
980 - 1014 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45
1015 - 1049 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45
1050 - 1084 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45
1085 - 1119 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45
1120 - 1154 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45 45
1155 - 1189 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45 45
1190 - 1224 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45 45
1225 - 1259 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45 45
1260 - 1294 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45 45 45
1295 - 1329 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45 45 45
1330 - 1364 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45 45 45
1365 - 1399 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45 45 45
1400 - 1434 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45 45 45 45
1435 - 1469 34 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45 45 45 45
1470 - 1504 35 37 39 41 43 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1505 - 1539 36 38 40 42 44 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1540 - 1574 37 39 41 43 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1575 - 1609 38 40 42 44 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1610 - 1644 39 41 43 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1645 - 1679 40 42 44 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1680 - 1714 41 43 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1715 - 1749 42 44 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1750 - 1784 43 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1785 - 1819 44 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45
1820 - 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Over the last year, some Employment Insurance (EI) economic regions, including those with high concentrations of workers in seasonal industries, have seen significant and steep declines in unemployment rates. While this is good news for most people, workers in seasonal employment often face unique labour market challenges due to the cyclical nature of their employment. Seasonal jobs are often found in rural and remote areas of the country, with scarce or no other job prospects nearby. In these areas, unemployed seasonal workers are competing for few available jobs during the off-season, making it especially difficult to find work after being laid off from a seasonal job.

Under the long-standing rules of the EI program, a reduction in regional unemployment rates can result in a reduction in the number of weeks of EI regular benefits that claimants are entitled to. For seasonal workers who rely on EI support to help them get through recurring periods of unemployment, the sudden and atypical decrease in the number of weeks of benefit entitlement due to lower unemployment rates can be challenging, especially if they reside in communities which are largely dependent on seasonal industries, with limited work available between seasons. If the number of weeks of EI regular benefits that a seasonal claimant qualifies for in their off-season is not sufficient to bridge the period between their lay-off at the end of the season and their return to work at the start of the next season, and the claimant is unable to find other work, they will experience an income gap (often referred to as the “trou noir”). Lower unemployment rates could increase the risk or the duration of a trou noir for seasonal claimants, while also impacting their access to EI and their weekly benefit rate.

Background

EI regular benefits, under Part I of the Employment Insurance Act (EI Act), provide temporary income support to eligible unemployed workers while they look for employment.

The EI program is designed to respond automatically to changes in economic conditions that affect local labour markets. The EI program currently divides the country into 62 economic regions. Eligible individuals require between 420 and 700 hours of insurable employment to qualify and are entitled to receive between 14 and 45 weeks of EI regular benefits, depending on the unemployment rate in the EI economic region where they reside and the number of hours of insurable employment accumulated in their qualifying period.footnote 2 In general, when an EI economic region’s unemployment rate decreases, the number of weeks of EI regular benefit entitlement that a claimant can receive also decreases, reflecting the improving labour market conditions.

However, for seasonal workers who rely on the EI program for income support during the off-season, the fewer number of weeks of EI benefits available during the off-season can mean a greater chance of experiencing a period with no income between the end of their EI benefits and the start of the next season. This is especially true in areas of the country where seasonal industries are the main source of jobs and employment opportunities during the off-season are scarce.

There have been consistent calls for reforms to the EI program to better respond to the needs of workers in seasonal industries including from employers of seasonal workers who would like their employees to return during the busy season.

The EI program currently has a temporary legislated seasonal measure in place to reduce the likelihood and duration of income gaps for seasonal EI claimants. First introduced as a pilot project in the Employment Insurance Regulations (EI regulations) in 2018 (Pilot Project No. 21), this measure was subsequently replicated as a temporary measure in the legislation in 2021 and later extended two times via legislative amendments to the EI Act. The most recent extension was made in the Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, which extended the existing seasonal measure until October 26, 2024.

This measure provides up to five additional weeks (to a maximum of 45 weeks) of regular benefits to seasonal claimants who reside in 13 targeted EI economic regionsfootnote 3:

To qualify for the additional weeks of regular benefits under the existing seasonal measure, claimants must also meet the following seasonal claimant criteria:

The legislation also includes a clause to ensure that the timing of temporary measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have impacted seasonal claiming patterns, does not affect seasonal claimant status. Therefore, if, at the time the claim is established, claimants do not meet the above criteria, but they qualified for the additional weeks of benefits under Pilot Project No. 21, they are considered to meet the seasonal claimant criteria.

The evaluation of Pilot Project No. 21 found that claimants entitled to fewer weeks of benefits were more likely to experience an income gap during their off-season and were more likely to use the extra weeks of benefits offered.

In 2023, some seasonal industries experienced shorter or interrupted work seasons for various reasons, including effects of climate change, natural disasters, supply chain issues, and market fluctuations. For many seasonal workers, the shorter season meant more difficulty accumulating the hours of work they needed to qualify for enough weeks of benefits to cover them until the next season. This will increase their risk of having a period during which they receive neither EI benefits nor employment income before their return to seasonal employment. In EI economic regions that have seen a sudden decline in the unemployment rate and where claimants are entitled to a lower number of weeks of EI benefits than in the previous year, the existing temporary legislated measure that provides up to five additional weeks of EI regular benefits to seasonal claimants may no longer be sufficient to prevent an income gap for some seasonal claimants; for others who were already experiencing an income gap, there is a risk that receiving fewer weeks of benefits will result in even longer income gaps.

Of the 13 targeted EI economic regions, seven EI regions experienced declines in unemployment rates that resulted in fewer weeks of benefit entitlement for seasonal claimants who established an EI regular benefits claim in fall 2023 compared to what they would have qualified for at the same time last year with the same number of insurable employment hours. These regions are: Newfoundland / Labrador (excluding the capital), Eastern Nova Scotia, Western Nova Scotia, Madawaska–Charlotte, Restigouche–Albert, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and Prince Edward Island (excluding the capital).

As an example, the EI economic region of Newfoundland / Labrador (excluding the capital) experienced a steep decline in its unemployment rate, falling from 14.8% in September 2022 to 12.0% in September 2023. For workers in that EI economic region who started a claim on September 10, 2023 (when the new unemployment rate came into effect), including those in seasonal industries, the result is up to six fewer weeks of regular benefit entitlement compared to those who had a claim established in September 2022.

Objective

The amendments to the EI regulations seek to mitigate the impact of decreases in the number of weeks of EI benefit entitlements due to recent declines in unemployment rates in EI economic regions with high concentrations of seasonal claimants and to help reduce the likelihood or the duration of an income gap during the off-season for seasonal claimants. By establishing a pilot project, the amendments will also test whether certain seasonal claimants require more additional weeks of benefits as a result of low unemployment rates.

Description

Further to the announcement in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, the amendments to the EI Regulations introduce a pilot project that provides up to four additional weeks of EI regular benefits, on top of the five additional weeks available under the existing temporary legislated seasonal measure, to seasonal claimants whose benefit period is established between September 10, 2023, and September 7, 2024, and who meet the criteria of the existing legislated seasonal measure. The existing maximum of 45 weeks of regular benefits remains in place. To be eligible for the additional weeks, claimants must reside in one of the 13 EI economic regions targeted by the existing legislated temporary seasonal measure and meet the seasonal claimant definition.

Regulatory development

Consultation

This proposal follows two years of extensive consultations on EI modernization starting in 2021 that were conducted through a phased approach and included over 35 stakeholder roundtables with organized labour and employer groups, community organizations, academics, and other experts. The five sessions that were specifically focussed on seasonal workers included four stakeholder roundtables, with significant participation from Quebec and Atlantic Canada, and one workshop with technical experts. The consultations also included input from more than 160 written submissions from interested stakeholders through an online portal, and over 1 900 responses to a public questionnaire.

There was general support for continuation of the existing temporary legislated seasonal measure, although some worker groups asked to increase the number of additional weeks of EI regular benefit beyond five weeks to reduce the likelihood or duration of the income gap. There was also recognition among worker and employer groups of the need to better define eligibility for the seasonal measure and more flexibility to help workers stay connected to work while in receipt of EI in the off-season to ensure they return to their seasonal employment when it resumes and to avoid labour shortages in seasonal industries. Some experts expressed more general concern that EI is limiting productivity and economic development in areas with highly seasonal regional economies and called for incremental changes towards less regional EI policies.

Consultations have also been held internally with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, as well as externally with officials from the Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador governments to better understand the unexpected EI impacts of recent and sudden labour market changes on seasonal workers and regions.

Since the regulations need to be put in place expeditiously and do not result in additional burden on businesses, the amendments were exempted from prepublication in Part I of the Canada Gazette.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation, an assessment of modern treaty implications was conducted in support of the proposal. There are no implications for modern treaty obligations or Indigenous engagement in these regulatory amendments. No Indigenous groups were engaged in designing this proposal.

Instrument choice

The EI Act provides the Canada Employment Insurance Commission with the authority to make regulations to introduce pilot projects of up to a three-year duration, to test possible amendments to the Act or the regulations to make them more consistent with current industry employment practices, trends or patterns or to improve service to the public.

Introducing this temporary EI measure as a pilot project enables it to be implemented in sufficient time to support most seasonal claimants in the 13 EI regions targeted, the majority of whom have their benefit period starting in the fall or early winter. At the same time, the pilot project will test whether low unemployment rates result in a need for seasonal claimants to use more additional weeks of EI regular benefits to mitigate the possibility of an income gap during their off-season.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

The payment of up to four additional weeks of EI benefits is expected to be the principal benefit of the pilot project. A supplemental benefit of the pilot project will be the information collected and lessons learned from the project, which will be used to inform future program changes. The latter cannot be quantified and is not included in the analysis.

The administrative costs associated with delivering the measure, as well as the increased EI premiums resulting from the administrative costs and increased program costs (i.e. EI benefits paid), will be the principal costs associated with the pilot project.

Calculation of benefits

To receive up to four additional weeks of regular benefits under the pilot project, a claimant must meet the seasonal claimant definition, reside in one of the 13 targeted EI economic regions, and have already used all of their weeks of benefit entitlement, including the additional five weeks of benefits provided by the existing temporary legislated measure.

Pilot Project No. 21 serves as a baseline scenario as it provided five additional weeks of EI regular benefits (to a maximum of 45 weeks) to seasonal claimants in the 13 targeted EI economic regions. Data from this pilot project found that in 2019, the last year where data was not impacted by the pandemic, about 62 000 seasonal claimants in these regions used at least one week of the additional weeks provided.

Based on EI administrative data from 2019, it is estimated that about 42 000 of these 62 000 seasonal claimants would benefit from at least one of the four additional weeks of EI regular benefits provided by this new pilot project. Forty-two thousand is the number of claimants who used all five of the additional weeks of benefits provided by Pilot Project No. 21 but did not qualify for the maximum entitlement of 45 weeks. The breakdown of the 42 000 seasonal claimants by EI economic region, based on the same EI administrative data, is provided in Table 1 below.

It is estimated that the 42 000 seasonal claimants will receive, on average, 3.3 additional weeks of benefits under this pilot project, resulting in a total of approximately 138 600 additional weeks of benefits being provided. The average amount for each week of additional benefits provided is estimated at $480. This amount reflects the average weekly benefit rate of seasonal claimants from 2019 actualized to 2023-24. Using this benefit rate, the pilot project is expected to provide about $66.5 million in additional benefits to eligible seasonal claimants.

Table 1 below summarizes, by region, the expected number of beneficiaries, expected total additional weeks of benefits to be used, and expected amount of benefits to be paid from the pilot project. Note that the total number of claimants expected to benefit from this measure was rounded to 42 000 for the purposes of estimating the total dollar amount in benefits expected to be paid by this measure.

Table 1: Seasonal claimants expected to benefit from the pilot project per EI economic region 
EI Economic Region  Seasonal claimants expected to benefit from the Pilot Project (i.e. would use at least one of the up to four additional weeks of benefits) Expected number of additional weeks to be used (= number of claimants * 3.3 weeks) [numbers rounded to the nearest hundred] Total expected amount of benefits (= number of weeks * $480)
Newfoundland / Labrador (excluding the capital) 5 600 18 700 $8,976,000
Eastern Nova Scotia 3 400 11 400 $5,472,000
Western Nova Scotia 4 400 14 700 $7,056,000
Prince Edward Island (excluding the capital) 2 300 7 700 $3,696,000
Charlottetown 500 1 700 $816,000
Madawaska–Charlotte 1 300 4 300 $2,064,000
Restigouche–Albert 4 600 15 400 $7,392,000
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine 3 400 11 400 $5,472,000
Lower Saint Lawrence and North Shore 5 400 18 000 $8,640,000
Central Quebec 7 400 24 700 $11,856,000
Chicoutimi–Jonquière 900 3 000 $1,440,000
North Western Quebec 2 200 7 300 $3,504,000
Yukon (excluding the capital) 100 300 $144,000
Total 41 500 138 600 $66,528,000

Table 2 provides the expected distribution of additional EI benefits by fiscal year. Although the pilot project will apply to claims established over a one-year period, the extra weeks of benefits provided by the pilot project are expected to be paid over three fiscal years, 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26. The additional weeks provided will be available to any eligible seasonal claimant whose benefit period is established between September 10, 2023, and September 7, 2024. The benefit period during which a claimant can receive benefits is usually 52 weeks following the beginning of their claim. Thus, some claimants who commence their claim in 2024 could receive the extra weeks of benefits in the 2025/26 fiscal year.

Table 2: Additional EI benefits (fiscal year, millions)
  2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 Total
Expected additional EI benefits $6.14 $48.25 $12.13 $66.52
Calculation of costs

Service Canada estimates the total incremental operating costs for the pilot project are $2.1 million. This amount is estimated based on the expected claimant volume from the pilot project and from previous experiences delivering temporary measures providing additional weeks of benefits to seasonal claimants. These costs are expected to occur over two fiscal years (2023/24 and 2024/25), as Service Canada does not expect operating costs after September 7, 2024, to be significant.

The incremental program costs are estimated to be $66.5 million, equivalent to the total amount of additional EI benefits that would be paid under the pilot project. These costs, along with the operating costs for Service Canada, will be recovered through increases to the EI premiums paid over a seven-year period by workers in insurable employment and by their employers. The seven-year period is based on the principle that EI premiums are adjusted to ensure the EI Operating Account maintains a seven-year break-even rate.

An analysis based on the 2024 Actuarial Report on the Employment Insurance Premium Rate to determine the increase in premiums that will be needed to ensure a balance in the EI Operating Account over a seven-year period, taking into account inflation, concluded that this measure will result in upward pressure on EI premiums of 0.04 cents per $100 of insurable earnings.

Table 3 shows the expected incremental costs, in the form of increased EI premiums, resulting from the impact of this measure on the projected 2025 seven-year break-even rate. The total cost of $68.6 million is comprised of $66.5 million in increased premiums to offset the increased benefits paid out and $2.1 million in increased premiums to offset the operating costs to Service Canada. While the impact is over a seven calendar-year period, it is presented over eight fiscal years.

Table 3: Increase in EI premiums resulting from the pilot project
  2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 2031/32 Total
Increased Premiums $0 $2.21 $8.91 $9.20 $9.51 $9.86 $10.22 $10.58 $8.14 $68.63
Present value of benefits

The net benefit of this pilot project is equal to the additional benefits received by eligible seasonal claimants in the 13 targeted EI economic regions minus the increased premiums paid by all workers in all EI regions, including those not targeted by the pilot project. The present value of the total incremental net benefit of the pilot project, discounted at 7%, amounts to $12.1 million. This benefit arises as a result of discounting, reflecting that the benefits occur over the first three years of the pilot project while the costs are spread over a longer period. Table 4 shows the present value of the benefits and costs from the proposed measure, by year.

Table 4: Present value of the benefits and costs of the proposed measure
(millions) 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 2031/32 Total
Benefits $6.14 $45.09 $10.60 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $61.83
Costs $0 $2.06 $7.78 $7.51 $7.25 $7.03 $6.81 $6.59 $4.74 $49.77
Net Present Value (Benefits – Costs) $12.06

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the regulatory amendments will not impact Canadian small businesses. No regulatory administrative or compliance burden on small businesses has been identified. As per standard processes currently in place for businesses to comply with the EI program, businesses will continue to be required to provide a Record of Employment when there is a termination; however, it will not change in the form or frequency as a result of this pilot project.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply as there is no incremental change in administrative burden on business and no regulatory titles are repealed or introduced.

The regulatory amendments do not add any new burden on employers. The additional weeks of entitlement will be automatically added to eligible seasonal claims. No additional action is required on behalf of the employer.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The regulatory amendments do not have implications for international agreements (trade, environmental, human rights, etc.) obligations, or voluntary standards. They are not aimed at minimizing or reducing regulatory differences, nor at increasing regulatory compatibility with another jurisdiction. They do not introduce specific Canadian requirements that differ from existing regulations in other jurisdictions for an international program. They do not aim to enable regulatory alignment with the United States as committed to under the Joint Action Plan for the Canada–United States Regulatory Cooperation Council.

Strategic environmental assessment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

This analysis uses data from the annual EI Monitoring and Assessment Report and EI Administrative Data. The analysis focuses on EI claimant data from January 2019 to December 2019 as it is the only full year of data available before the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to temporary measures put in place between March 2020 and September 2022 in response to the pandemic, 2019 data is likely to best represent the current context. EI administrative data provides information on the gender of claimants and has some information on claimants’ visible minority, Indigenous and disability statuses; however, this information is provided on a voluntary basis which severely limits any potential analysis. The EI program does not collect data on health characteristics, education, ethnicity, socio-economic, cultural, or familial characteristics of EI claimants. No data for additional GBA+ groups is available currently.

When EI claimants use all their EI entitlement (weeks of benefits), they are said to have exhausted their benefits. Only seasonal claimants who exhaust their benefits (including the additional up to five weeks provided under the existing seasonal measure) will be able to benefit from this pilot project and are therefore the target population. The evaluation of the Pilot Project No. 21 found that only 37% of claimants who were eligible for all five additional weeks of entitlement used at least one of those weeks and 10% of those claimants had an income gap in the previous year.

More men than women would likely benefit from the pilot project. Based on 2019 data, of the approximately 62 000 claims that received at least one additional week of benefits under Pilot Project No. 21, 64.5% were made by men and 35.5% were made by women.

Workers over the age of 40 are also likely to benefit from the additional weeks, given that 29.1% of 2019 claims using at least one additional week of benefits were made by claimants between the ages of 40 and 54 and 49.4% were made by claimants 55 years old and older.

The findings of the Pilot Project No. 21 suggest that seasonal claimants in the 13 targeted EI economic regions who would benefit from the pilot project are more likely than seasonal claimants in the rest of Canada to work in manufacturing, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and hunting, and accommodation and food services (likely related to tourism).

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

Implementation includes a minor adjustment to the information technology (IT)-related EI processing systems — all other parameters remain the same. This includes updating business requirements, technical design, preparation of IT specifications, IT system development and testing (system, integration and acceptance), and project management. Implementation also includes minor adjustments to procedures and reference documents, training material, public-facing content, and internal communication.

Service delivery considerations associated with this implementation include managing the claimant base and maintaining the resources in place that support the claims associated with the seasonal measure. The longer the life cycle of a claim, the more claim maintenance is required.

Compliance and enforcement

As this initiative is a new pilot project within the EI program, the same compliance and enforcement authorities as currently found in the Employment Insurance Act would apply. Compliance reviews consist of ensuring compliance with applicable legislation, regulations and policies, including identification of cases of error, misrepresentation and abuse. Enforcement investigations consist of identifying, detecting, preventing and disrupting cases of fraud and suspicious accounts.

Service standards

Service Canada provides Canadians with a single point of access to a wide range of government services and benefits, including the processing and payment of EI claims. Regarding service standards, the department’s objective is to issue a payment or notice of non-eligibility within 28 days from the date on which the EI application is received, 80% of the time.

Contact

Benoit Cadieux
Director
Employment Insurance Policy
Skills and Employment Branch
Employment and Social Development Canada
140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0J9
Email: benoit.cadieux@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca