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Ottawa (13 Aug. 2021) — A number of the temporary improvements to Employment Insurance (EI) that were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic will end on September 25, 2021. These include the minimum benefit of $500/week and the temporary 120 hour qualifying rule.
Precarious and low-wage workers will be most affected
Ending the 120-hour qualifying rule will make it harder for people in precarious work to qualify for EI, while the end of the $500/week minimum benefit will leave many who worked in low-wage jobs struggling to get by.
The new minimum benefit will be $300/week, and even the reduced minimum benefit is set to expire on November 20, 2021. After November 20 there will be no minimum benefit.
EI applications before September 25 still under temporary rules
People applying for EI prior to September 25, 2021, will receive the greater of $500/week or 55% of weekly earnings (to a maximum of $573/week) for the whole time their EI claims are open. People applying after September 25 will receive a minimum of $300/week until November 20 and 55% of their weekly earnings after that time.
For workers expecting to be laid off before September 25, particularly those with low incomes and open EI claims, this means there are more issues than usual to consider.
First round of consultations on EI reform announced
If there are no changes to EI prior to September 22, 2022, then we will go back to the rules that were in place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic showed, this will leave us with an EI program that is inadequate.
On August 6, 2021, the federal government announced the first round of consultations on changes to the EI program. Additional information and a link to a survey the public are being asked to fill out can be found here.
These consultations are limited in scope, and there are concerns that they will be cut short if a federal election is called. There is also a concern that when looking at how to better support workers who are self-employed or in the gig economy improving labour standards so employers can no longer get away with claiming people who work for them are self-employed has to be part of the solution.
Recovery benefits extended by 4 weeks
People who don’t qualify for EI can now apply for one of the 3 recovery benefits — the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) — until October 23, 2021. The maximum number of weeks of benefits for the CRB has been increased by 4 to 54 weeks. There are no changes to the maximum number of weeks of benefits for the other 2 programs.