Vol. 151, No. 5 — March 8, 2017

Registration

SOR/2017-27 February 24, 2017

EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT

Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations

P.C. 2017-161 February 24, 2017

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission, pursuant to section 54 (see footnote a) of the Employment Insurance Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations.

January 25, 2017

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development, pursuant to section 54 (see footnote c) of the Employment Insurance Act (see footnote d), approves the annexed Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations, made by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.

Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations

Amendment

1 Subsections 9.002(2) and (3) of the Employment Insurance Regulations (see footnote 1) are repealed.

Coming into Force

2 These Regulations come into force on the day on which Division 1 of Part 4 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, chapter 12 of the Statutes of Canada, 2016, comes into force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Subsections 9.002(2) and (3) of the Employment Insurance Regulations (EI Regulations) which specify what does not constitute suitable employment for the purposes of paragraphs 18(1)(a), 27(1)(a) to (c) and subsection 50(8) of the Employment Insurance Act (EI Act) have become redundant, as similar provisions were added in subsections 6(4) and (5) of the EI Act.

Background

The EI Act has had long-standing provisions which create an obligation for an Employment Insurance (EI) claimant to actively look for, and be willing to accept, suitable employment. The concept of what is “not suitable employment” was set out in the EI Act prior to its repeal on January 6, 2013, under the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs (CCAJ) initiative. Considerable jurisprudence was established through time to inform how this term should be interpreted by Service Canada agents, workers and employers.

Budget 2012 announced the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs initiative

Under the CCAJ initiative, on January 6, 2013, provisions specifying what is not suitable employment in the EI Act were repealed and the EI Regulations were amended to prescribe criteria for determining what constitutes “reasonable and customary efforts” that a claimant is expected to make to obtain suitable employment and “suitable employment” that a claimant is expected to search for and accept through the duration of their claim based on the claimant category to which they belong.

The addition of claimant categories added complexity to the EI program, while the criteria relating to the daily commuting time to and from work, the offered earnings and the type of employment that a claimant was required to search for and accept limited flexibility for certain claimants. In practice, less than 1% of disentitlements in 2013–2014 were as a result of a claimant’s failure to search for work or due to their refusal to accept suitable employment.

Budget 2016 announced the Simplifying Job Search Responsibilities for Employment Insurance Claimants initiative

As part of this initiative, the Government of Canada reversed the changes made under the CCAJ initiative in order to simplify job search responsibilities for EI claimants. More specifically, criteria in the EI Regulations relating to the daily commuting time, the offered earnings and the type of work were repealed and replaced by provisions specifying what is not suitable employment, as set out in the EI Act prior to their repeal under the CCAJ initiative. References to the claimant categories (long-tenured workers, frequent claimants and occasional claimants) with respect to job search responsibilities were also removed from the regulatory criteria for determining what constitutes suitable employment.

These amendments to the EI Regulations came into force on July 3, 2016. Elements introduced on January 6, 2013, that are favourable to the EI claimant’s personal circumstances — such as health and family obligations — were retained and continue to be considered in determining whether a job is suitable for them.

It was subsequently determined that the provisions specifying what does not constitute suitable employment are better established in the Act so as to align them more directly with previously existing jurisprudence established when this concept was in the EI Act.

On December 15, 2016, the Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, chapter 12 of the Statutes of Canada, 2016, amended the EI Act to add subsections 6(4) and (5) which specify what does not constitute employment for the purposes of paragraphs 18(1)(a), 27(1)(a) to (c) and subsection 50(8) of the EI Act. These amendments come into force on March 12, 2017.

Objectives

The objective of these regulatory amendments is to repeal subsections 9.002(2) and (3) of the EI Regulations, as similar provisions are now included in the EI Act.

Description

The EI Regulations are amended to repeal subsections 9.002(2) and (3).

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply, as the amendments do not impose any incremental administrative burden on business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply, as the amendments do not impose any additional administrative or compliance costs on small businesses.

Rationale

Regulatory amendments are required to repeal subsections 9.002(2) and (3) of the EI Regulations. Provisions specifying what does not constitute suitable employment are now provided in subsections 6(4) and (5) of the EI Act.

The change in the choice of statutory instruments is intended to strengthen the implementation of this important element of Budget 2016 EI commitments of the Government of Canada. It does not reflect a change of policy or program operations. EI claimants will not be affected.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The amendments to the EI Regulations come into force on March 12, 2017, the same day as the day of the coming into force of the amendments to the EI Act that added subsections 6(4) and (5) to the EI Act to specify what is not suitable employment.

Existing implementation and enforcement mechanisms contained in Employment and Social Development Canada’s adjudication and control procedures will ensure that provisions related to employment not suitable in the EI Act and the EI Regulations continue to be implemented effectively and efficiently.

Contact

Employment Insurance Policy
Employment and Social Development Canada
140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV, 7th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0J9
Email: nc-eipi-paer-gd@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca