Employment Insurance Regulations - Amendments

1. Subsection 35(4) of the Employment Insurance Regulations¹ is replaced by the following:

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the payments a claimant has received or, on application, is entitled to receive under a group sickness or disability wage-loss indemnity plan or a workers' compensation plan, or as an indemnity described in paragraph (2)(f), are not earnings to be taken into account for the purpose of subsection 14(2).

2. Subsection 39(3) of the Regulations is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):

3. The Regulations are amended by adding the following after section 77:

Pilot Project Extending the Benefit Period of Certain Claimants

77.1 (1) The Commission establishes Pilot Project No. 5 for the purpose of assessing the effect of allowing claimants who are entitled to benefits for one or more weeks for which they receive or are entitled to receive an indemnity payment described in paragraph 35(2) (f) to choose not to be paid benefits for those weeks.

(2) Pilot Project No. 5 includes all claimants

(a) whose benefit period begins or ends during the Pilot Project;

(b) who receive or are entitled to receive an indemnity payment described in paragraph 35(2) (f) during their benefit period; and

(c) who are entitled to benefits for one or more weeks for which they receive or are entitled to receive an indemnity payment described in paragraph 35(2) (f).

(3) A claimant who chooses not to be paid benefits to which they are entitled for one or more weeks for which they receive or are entitled to receive an indemnity payment described in paragraph 35(2) (f) is, for the purposes of paragraph 10 (10) (d) of the Act, deemed to have proved that they are not entitled to benefits for those weeks.

(4) The following applies to a claimant who, after being paid benefits for one or more weeks for which they received or were entitled to receive an indemnity payment described in paragraph 35(2) (f), chooses not to be paid benefits:

(a) if the Commission informed the claimant about Pilot Project No. 5 before the claimant was paid benefits, subsection (3) does not apply in respect of the week or weeks for which a benefit was paid; and

(b) if the Commission did not inform the claimant about the Pilot Project before the claimant was paid benefits, subsection (3) applies in respect of the week or weeks for which a benefit was paid and the claimant must repay the benefits paid.

(5) A claimant may rescind a choice made by them under subsection (3). A claimant who rescinds shall be paid benefits to which they are entitled.

(6) Pilot Project No. 5 does not apply to a week preceding the week in which this section comes into force or a week following the week in which this section ceases to have effect.

COMING INTO FORCE

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

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¹SOR/96-332