Interim Order Amending the Employment Insurance Act (Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit): SOR/2020-61

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 154, Number 14

Erratum

SOR/2020-61

EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT

Interim Order Amending the Employment Insurance Act (Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit)

Notice is hereby given that the above-mentioned Interim Order, published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 154, No. 8, dated Wednesday, April 15, 2020, contained an error. Accordingly, the following modifications are made.

At page 627

Under section 3, delete the entire Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement.

Replace by:

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Interim Order.)

Issues

As per subsection 153.3(1) of the Employment Insurance Act, the Minister of Employment and Social Development may make interim orders for the purpose of mitigating the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding public health measures have resulted in an extraordinary disruption to the labour force in Canada. In March 2020, workers have submitted more than two million Employment Insurance (EI) claims. Yet, some provisions of the Employment Insurance Act and its regulations may be obstacles to providing rapid support to workers in this emergency situation.

The objective of this Interim Order is to manage the extraordinary volume of claims in these exceptional circumstances by temporarily simplifying the Employment Insurance program.

Notably, this Interim Order provides for a new Emergency Response Benefit that is closely aligned with income support payments under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act. For EI claims established between March 15, 2020, and October 3, 2020, the Interim Order describes that claims for EI regular benefits and EI sickness benefits are considered as applications for the Emergency Response Benefit. These changes will allow for many claims to be processed quickly by simplifying the eligibility criteria and facilitating automation.

This Interim Order is not making changes to EI maternity, parental, compassionate care, family caregiving or fishing benefits. The Interim Order is temporary in nature and will cease to have effect when it is repealed or expires.