*The below document contains wording and information taken directly from the Government of Canada’s EI Consultation website located at: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/ei/consultation-better-program.html
Section 1: Special Instructions
Government preamble and duration: Thank you for taking the time to participate in the EI (Employment Insurance) consultation survey. Depending on how much input you want to provide, the survey should take about 20-40 minutes of your time.
Topics covered in the survey:
- Improving EI access by simplifying the rules for workers and employers.
- Making EI more consistent and reliable for workers in seasonal industries.
- Supporting self-employed and "gig" workers.
- Improving support for workers during pregnancy, childbirth, adoption, and other 'life events'.
- Improvements to the Premium Reduction Program – Supporting employers who offer sickness benefits for workers.
Additionally, there is opportunity to provide input on any topics included in the survey that are relevant to you.
To complete the survey visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/ei/consultation-better-program.html
The personalized survey link is located under the section “Share your ideas online” and accessed by clicking “online survey”.
Section 2: Information about yourself
Government preamble: The answers to these questions are to help the Government get a sense of who is participating in the consultation process. All responses will remain anonymous and will not be used to identify you.
Possible Questions and Possible Responses
Q. Are you participating as an individual or as a representative of an organization? (Choose one) (required)
A. Select Individual OR Representative of an Organization (Unifor)
Q. What location(s) does your organization mainly serve OR What region do you reside in? (required)
A. Select National (if organization was selected) or the province/territory that is applicable
Q. Please select your EI economic region. (required)
A. Select region
Q. What type of perspectives does your organization represent? (Select all that apply) (required)
A. Select Union Members AND/OR all that apply
Q. In which age category do you fall? (required)
A. Select age category
Q. What is your gender? (required)
A. Select gender
Q. Do you identify as any of the following? (required)
A. Select all that apply
Q. Are you an Employer, Worker or Self-Employed? (required)
A. Select Worker
Q. Which of the following best describes you? (required)
A. Select all that apply
Section 3: EI Experience
Government preamble: The Government would like to ask some questions about your experience with the EI program and whether it meets the needs of Canadians.
Possible Questions and Possible Responses
Q. Have you ever applied for and received Employment Insurance benefits? (required)
A. Select applicable response
Q. If responded yes to above:
A. Select all that apply
Q. When did you receive these benefits? (required)
Q. Which type of benefits have you received to date? (required)
Q. Since 2018, have you benefited from the pilot project providing extra weeks of EI regular benefits to workers in seasonal industries? (required)
Q. When you received EI benefits, did they meet your financial needs while on claim? (required)
A. Select all that apply
Q. I would support a higher EI payment, even if it meant I had to pay more in EI. (required)
A. Select Yes
Section 4: Opportunities to modernize the Employment Insurance (EI) program
Government preamble: Any future reforms will need to consider the following key objectives:
- Allowing Canadian workers to more easily access EI as temporary income support;
- Ensuring EI benefits are adequate to support Canadian workers during period of unemployment or critical life events;
- Promoting an efficient labour market that supports unemployed workers to return to work when possible; and
- Ensuring the program is affordable and financially sustainable for the workers and employers that pay into it.
Based on your own experience and understanding, please specify your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements.
Suggested Responses
I think the EI program provides the support Canadians need. (required) Strongly disagree
I think the EI program provides support to Canadians in a timely manner. (required) Strongly disagree
I think the EI program is fair. (required) Strongly disagree
If a person quits or was fired from a job for misconduct, I think that person should not qualify for EI benefits. (required) Strongly disagree
I have a good understanding of EI eligibility criteria. (required) Strongly agree, agree or neither
The process to apply for EI is too time consuming. (required) Strongly agree
Too many people are dependent on EI. (required) Strongly disagree
It's hard for employers to find people to work because EI benefits are too easy to access. (required) Strongly disagree
There is a lot of abuse and misuse of the EI program. (required) Strongly disagree
Please rate how much priority the Government should give to each of the following in the EI modernization process. Please use a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 mean no priority and 10 is highest priority.
Suggested Responses
Simplified and flexible access (eligibility criteria). (required) Select priority range between 6-10
Support for workers during life events (birth/adoption of a child). (required) Select priority range between 6-10
Consistent and reliable benefits to workers in seasonal industries. (required) Select priority range between 6-10
Income support to self-employed and gig workers. (required) Select priority range between 6-10
Improvements to the Premium Reduction Program - Supporting employers who offer sickness benefits for workers. (required) Select priority range between 6-10
Questions and Possible Responses
Q. In your experience what have the main obstacles to accessing EI benefits been? (1000 characters maximum)
A. The restrictive eligibility criteria, low benefit rates and significant gaps in worker coverage have been the main obstacles to accessing EI benefits.
Q. Do you have any suggestions on how we could make EI benefits more accessible to workers? (1000 characters maximum)
A. Replace the Variable Entrance Requirement with a Standardized Entrance Requirement of 360 hours across Canada and base the qualifying hours and duration for existing claims on the most favourable time period.
Eliminate all disqualifications for quitting a job to return to school or to attend to family responsibilities and remove the “quit-fire” disqualification.
Eliminate the allocation of separation payments and remove social assistance claw backs.
Ensure Working While on Claim rules do not claw back benefits from the first dollar of earnings and ensure access to benefits for workers who work multiple part time jobs.
Work with relevant federal ministries to ensure all migrant workers in Canada have full access to regular and special EI benefits, open work permits and access to permanent immigration status.
Expand EI benefits to cover longer periods of domestic or sexual violence leave.
Expand access to EI during labour disputes, including during a lockout.
Government Context: Since April 1, 2016, the Commission has been responsible for setting the annual EI premium rate according to a 7-year break-even mechanism, as forecasted by the Office of the Chief Actuary.
Annual changes to the premium rate are subject to a legislated limit of 5 cents. The 7-year break-even mechanism ensures stable and predictable premium rates for Canadian workers and employers. This also ensures that EI contributions are only used for EI purposes.
Q. I would support paying higher EI premiums for an expanded program to meet Canadians income support needs. (required) (1000 characters maximum)
A. Strongly agree.
The current EI income replacement rate of 55% is at a historic low and does not allow for a liveable income, forcing some Canadians into numerous part time jobs. Expanding the targeted EI replacement wage to 75% will serve as an added income stabilizer for workers in need of support, and assist with transitioning back to work.
While Unifor welcomed the government’s increase of insurable earnings effective January 1, 2021. The current annual maximum of $56,300 falls short and limits the revenue-generating capacity needed for an expanded program. The EI program maximum insurable earnings continue to directly determine the maximum rate of weekly payments for all types of benefits under the EI program. The current annual maximum insurable earning’s means that almost half of all EI claimants hit the maximum benefit cap each year. Unifor urges the government to raise the ceiling on insurable earnings further and recommends harmonizing with the current CPP pensionable earnings.
Q. Are there other important areas for change that the government should be considering that are not covered in this survey? (required) (1000 characters maximum)
Response
- Permanently eliminate the one week waiting period during which benefits are not paid.
- Increase duration of benefits to 50 weeks in all regions across the country.
- Extend the duration of EI sickness benefits to 50 weeks, explore ways to create greater flexibility in benefit delivery and incentivize employer-sponsored workplace sick leave programs.
- Eliminate the 50-week limit on combined special benefits and unemployment benefits and extend the reference and benefit period to at least 104 weeks.
- Guarantee a minimum EI benefit floor of $500.
- Expand the Skills Boost to allow unemployed workers to enrol in educational programs full-time without losing EI benefits.
- Improve the Canada Training Benefit to strengthen lifelong learning.
- Encourage adoption of workplace supplemental unemployment benefit plans.
- Expand the EI Work Sharing program.
- Prioritize funding for unemployed help centres.
- Review the financing of the EI program and reinstate federal funding.
- Restore regional EI liaison officers.
Q. What is the top priority to focus on immediately for making meaningful changes to the EI program going forward and why? (required)(1000 characters maximum)
Response
- Improving accessibility (see response above)
- Enhancing benefits (see response above)
- Review the financing and restoring federal contributions
Section 5: Digging Deeper (1/5)
Government preamble: You may have direct experience with one or more of these issues. The Government encourages you to explore each issue and answer the questions that matter to you.
You can navigate through the sections and complete all of one of the following.
Which of the following topics do you want to complete next: Access to Employment Insurance (EI)
TOPIC: Access to Employment Insurance (EI) (1/3)
Introduction: Canadians may access several benefits within the EI system: regular, special (sickness, maternity and parental, and caregiving), fishing, and special benefits for the self-employed. All of them require that claimants meet certain requirements.
In this section, the Government asks you questions based on scenarios illustrating ways to make it easier for people to apply for EI and improve access for Canadians.
It is important to note that improvements and/or increased access to EI would come with a cost. Under the current program, increased EI costs would be addressed through higher premiums paid over time and would be paid by workers and employers who jointly finance the EI program.
Reasons for Separation (Becoming Unemployed)
Under pre-COVID 19 EI rules, the reasons why a worker becomes unemployed are considered when determining their eligibility for EI benefits. If a claimant's reason is not valid- for example if they quit their job or were fired for misconduct during the previous 52 weeks, both the insurable hours from that job and the hours from all their previous jobs within the previous 52 weeks are not counted towards the claimant's required hours of work to be EI eligible.
This rule is intended to encourage people to look for work and discourage workers from creating their own unemployment to access EI benefits.
Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements.
Suggested Responses
A worker who quits their job should have the hours from that job count towards their EI eligibility. (required) Strongly agree
A worker who is laid off through no fault of their own should have the hours from that job count towards their EI eligibility. (required) Strongly agree
A worker who has two jobs and quits the first one and is later laid off from the second job should have the hours from both jobs count towards their EI eligibility. (required) Strongly agree
A worker who quits one job and is later laid off from another, and who does not accumulate enough insurable hours between those two events to meet the EI entrance requirement, should not be eligible for EI benefits. (required) Neither agree nor disagree
Government Context: To simplify and improve access to EI for those who hold multiple jobs, workers who become unemployed will soon be able to access EI as long as their most recent job loss was through no fault of their own (e.g. a layoff). This change will result in an increased number of workers having access to EI, and as a result an eventual increase in EI premiums for workers and employers.
Questions and Suggested Responses
Q. Are you in favour of making this temporary measure a permanent feature of the EI program? (required)
A. Yes
Q. Over what time frame should a claimant's reasons for separations be assessed for the purposes of determining eligibility for EI: (required)
A. Only the most recent reason for separation for the claimant should be assessed (temporary simplification measure);
Q. Are you willing to pay a higher premium to cover the cost of making this temporary measure a permanent feature of the EI program? (required)
A. Yes
TOPIC: Access to Employment Insurance (EI) (2/3)
Introduction: Monies on Separation
Under pre-COVID 19 EI rules, a claimant cannot collect benefits until after they have spent any money included in a severance package or unused vacation payout. The rule works this way to prevent claimants from receiving payments of severance/vacation pay and EI benefits at the same time.
Please read the following scenario and share your views by responding to the questions below:
Bob lost his job on August 8, 2019 and received a severance payment of $1,500 and a vacation pay of $500.
Bob's normal weekly earnings were $500, so $2000 of vacation and severance pay were allocated (and considered to be earnings from employment) at $500 per week over the period from August 11 to September 7, 2019.
Bob applied for benefits on August 11, but his EI benefit payments were delayed by 4 weeks because he received $2,000 in vacation pay and severance pay. That amounted to four weeks of his normal weekly earnings. After this 4-week delay and a required one week waiting period from September 8th to the 14th, Bob received his first EI benefits the week of September 15th.
Please specify your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements:
Suggested Responses
Vacation and severance pay should not be considered when receiving EI benefits (this would mean that EI benefits start sooner). (required) Strongly agree
People should have to wait until their monies on separation are exhausted until they are eligible to receive EI (this would mean that EI benefits would start later). (required) Strongly disagree
Making unemployed workers eligible for EI at the same times as they receive vacation or severance pay means they could keep these monies as savings rather than income replacement, thereby reducing their motivation to return to work. (required) Strongly disagree
Government Context: To simplify and improve access to EI as Canada continues to recover from COVID-19, claimants who receive severance pay and vacation pay will soon be able to receive their EI benefits at the same time. This temporary change (available until September 2022) will result in an increased number of workers having access to EI, and an increase in EI premiums for workers and employers.
Questions and Suggested Responses
Q. Are you in favour of making this temporary measure a permanent feature of the EI program? (required)
A. Yes
Q. Are you willing to pay a higher premium to cover the cost of making this temporary measure a permanent feature of the EI program? (required)
A. Yes
TOPIC: Access to Employment Insurance (EI) (3/3)
Introduction: Variable Entrance Requirement
Under pre-COVID EI rules, the number of hours needed to quality for EI regular benefits can range from 420 hours to 700 hours of insurable employment in the previous 52 weeks. The number of hours depends on the unemployment rate in the EI region where a claimant lives. The unemployment rate can also affect the number of weeks of EI regular benefits a claimant will receive. This system is called the Variable Entrance Requirement (VER).
Reaching the VER can be difficult for part-time workers, often women, or workers in urban regions that typically have lower unemployment rates and require more hours worked to receive benefits.
VER was introduced to reflect local labour market conditions, as it can be relatively easier to find jobs in areas of lower overall unemployment.
However, skills mismatches that can exist within the same region or situations where individuals live in one region but work in another would not necessarily be captured by this tool.
Please read the following scenario and share your views by responding to the questions below:
Tomas works as a cashier at a retail store in an EI region with a high unemployment rate (17%). When the store he worked at closed due to bankruptcy, Tomas needed at least 420 hours of insurable employment, which entitled him to 32 of EI regular benefits.
Another worker, Guillaume, works as a cashier at a retail store in an EI region with a low unemployment rate (5%). When the store he worked at closed due to bankruptcy, Guillaume needed at least 700 hours of insurable employment, which entitled him to 14 weeks of EI regular benefits.
Please specify your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements:
Suggested Responses
The entrance requirements for EI should be the same across Canada, regardless of where you live. (required) Strongly agree
When EI entrance requirements are set too low, some people are less motivated to find employment. (required) Strongly disagree
When EI entrance requirements are set too low, it is too hard for employers to attract and retain employees. (required) Strongly disagree
When EI entrance requirements are set too high, it can leave seasonal workers without access to EI supports. (required) Strongly agree
It is fair that entrance requirements reflect the local unemployment rate. (required) Strongly disagree
Government Context: Under pre-COVID EI rules, the number of hours needed to quality for EI special benefits (sickness, maternity/parental, caregiving) is 600 hours of insurable employment in the last 52 weeks or since the start of the claimant's last claim (whichever is shorter). Access to EI special benefits is not dependent on the VER and therefore is not dependent on the local unemployment rate.
Please specify your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements:
Suggested Responses
Currently, the entrance requirements for EI special benefits (sickness, maternity/parental, caregiving) are too high for workers to qualify. (required) Strongly agree
The entrance requirements should be the same for all EI benefits. (required) Strongly agree
Government Context: To simplify access to EI as Canada continues to recover from COVID-19, entrance requirements for access to all EI benefits (regular and special) have been temporarily reduced to a common national requirement of 420 hours until September 2022.
Questions and Suggested Responses
Q. Are you in favour of making this temporary measure a permanent feature of the EI program? (required)
A. Yes
Q. Are you willing to pay higher premiums to cover the cost of making this temporary measure a permanent feature of the EI program? (required)
A. Yes
Section 5: Digging Deeper (2/5)
Government preamble: You may have direct experience with one or more of these issues. The Government encourages you to explore each issue and answer the questions that matter to you.
You can navigate through the sections and complete all of one of the following.
Which of the following topics do you want to complete next: Premium Reduction Program
TOPIC: Premium Reduction Plan
Introduction: Many employers provide their employees with paid sick days or some form of short-term disability or paid sickness benefit plan. When employees fall sick, they access that paid sick leave first, reducing the need for those employees to claim Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits.
The Premium Reduction Program (PRP) provides employers and employees with a reduction on the EI premium rates (which is in part passed on to the employee by the employer) they would otherwise pay if they offer their employees a short-term disability plan with income protection coverage that is equivalent to or better than EI sickness benefits. In order to qualify for a premium reduction, employer-provided paid sickness benefit plans must meet certain requirements.
In Budget 2021 the federal government announced the government's intention to permanently increase EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks, which will require the Premium Reduction Program to be updated. This provides an opportunity to review the program and explore opportunities to increase employer participation and improve access and adequacy for paid sick days for workers.
Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements:
Suggested Responses
Reducing the requirements for sickness benefit plans to qualify for a premium reduction would significantly increase the number of employers who offer sickness benefits to their employees. (required) Strongly agree
The amount of premium reduction should be variable and depend on the generosity of the sickness benefit plan offered. (required) Strongly agree
Small businesses/organizations should be offered different qualifying criteria or enhanced incentives to increase their participation in the Premium Reduction Program. (required) Neither agree nor disagree
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more employers are concerned about the health of their employees. Strongly agree
Offering sickness benefit plans and supporting their employees when they are sick has become more of a priority. (required) Strongly agree
Section 5: Digging Deeper (3/5)
Government preamble: You may have direct experience with one or more of these issues. The Government encourages you to explore each issue and answer the questions that matter to you.
You can navigate through the sections and complete all of one of the following.
Which of the following topics do you want to complete next: Life Events
TOPIC: Life Events (1/2)
Introduction: Employment Insurance (EI) special benefits provide temporary income support to workers who need to be away from work. This could be because of sickness, pregnancy, or to care for a newborn, or newly adopted child. Others might need to balance work and family responsibilities to care for a family member who is critically ill or injured or in need of end-of-life care.
The Government of Canada has committed to improving supports to new families. These consultations will explore potential improvements to EI maternity and parental benefits so they can continue to meet the needs of new parents and reflect the realities of Canadian families.
Maternity and parental benefits are important supports for parents welcoming a new child into their lives. Maternity benefits are only available to the person who is away from work because they're pregnant or have recently given birth. They cannot be shared between parents. Parental benefits are available to the parents of a newborn or newly adopted child. Parents can choose between standard parental benefits or extended parental benefits (paid at a lower rate over a longer period) and can be shared.
Benefits available to birth and adoptive parents
Please read the following scenario and share your views by responding to the questions below:
Mary and John have a child. Mary receives 15 weeks of EI maternity benefits and 35 weeks of parental benefits, and John receives 5 weeks of parental benefits, for a total of up to 55 weeks of maternity and parental benefits. Their friends, Paul and Robert, have adopted a child. While they are not eligible for the maternity benefit, they can receive parental benefits, which they decide to share equally. They each decide to claim 20 weeks of standard parental benefits for a total of 40 weeks.
Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements:
Suggested Responses
The only purpose of maternity benefits is to allow time for a new mother to physically recover from childbirth. (required) Strongly disagree
Parents adopting a child should be able to receive just as many EI benefits as parents giving birth to a child. (required) Disagree (Unifor proposes a 6-week special leave for birth recovery)
Parents should have more flexibility when it comes to sharing their weeks of parental benefits. (required) Strongly agree
Parents should have the ability to use parental benefits as needed at any time within the first two (or more) years of a child's life. (required) Strongly agree
TOPIC: Life Events (2/2)
Introduction: Combination of benefits – succession of life events
Please read the following scenario and share your views by responding to the questions below:
Julia is pregnant but suffers complications and needs to take an extended period off work prior to giving birth. She applies for and receives Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits for 10 weeks. When she gives birth, Julia transitions to maternity benefits for 15 weeks and parental benefits for 35 weeks. In total, Julia receives 60 weeks of sickness, maternity, and parental benefits combined.
Anna loses her job while she is pregnant. She receives 10 weeks of EI regular benefits and then transitions to maternity benefits for 15 weeks when she gives birth. When she transitions to parental benefits she is limited to a maximum of 25 weeks of benefits. This is a result of her not being able to combine more than 50 weeks of EI benefits when EI regular, maternity, and parental benefits are together under the claim.
Please specify your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements:
Suggested Responses
Workers who experience successive life events should have extended access to EI benefits. (required) Strongly agree
Parents who lose their job prior to welcoming a child should be able to access EI benefits for job loss without having any impact on their EI maternity/parental benefits (as long as they have accumulated the necessary amounts of EI insurable hours). (required) Strongly agree
Every parent should have access to a full year of maternity/parental benefits regardless of how long they have been working. (required) Strongly agree
When people are on EI benefits for too long, it reduces the likelihood that they will return to the workforce, which can be hard for employers. (required) Strongly disagree
Did you ever experience a life event but did not qualify or were not eligible to receive EI special benefits? (required)
Select all that apply
Question and Suggested Response
Q. How else could the EI program support Canadians going through life events? (1000 character maximum)
A. Paid domestic and sexual violence leave are crucial supports to ensure that workers do not need to choose between their jobs and their safety. In all Canadian jurisdictions except Alberta, domestic violence leave is now a paid leave with the ability for it to be taken in intermittent periods of one day or longer (as is sexual violence leave in seven different provinces). All leaves taken in intermittent periods should continue to be paid by the employer. However, currently in six provinces a longer continuous leave of up to (in some cases) 15 to 16 weeks is available to workers for domestic or sexual violence leave. These longer leaves will only be feasible if there are income supports available as economic security is a key indicator of safety. Being able to take a longer job-protected leave, in addition to the shorter leave days, with support through the Employment Insurance program would increase the safety of those facing domestic or sexual violence.
Section 5: Digging Deeper (4/5)
Government preamble: You may have direct experience with one or more of these issues. The Government encourages you to explore each issue and answer the questions that matter to you.
You can navigate through the sections and complete all of one of the following.
Which of the following topics do you want to complete next: Seasonal Work
TOPIC: Seasonal Work (1/1)
Introduction: For workers in seasonal industries, fluctuations in regional unemployment rates and the availability of work during their off-season can affect the number of insurable hours they need to qualify, the number of weeks they are entitled to receive benefits, and the amount of their weekly benefit.
In areas with higher proportions of seasonal work, there are more unemployed workers looking for fewer available jobs during the off-season. This makes it especially difficult to find work after being laid off from a seasonal job. The Employment Insurance (EI) seasonal pilot project was designed to test an approach to target additional income support in these circumstances by providing up to an additional five weeks of EI regular benefits to workers in seasonal industries who:
- Meet the pilot project's seasonal claimant definition; and
- Live in one of the 13 targeted regions.
In Budget 2021, the federal government announced that the parameters of this pilot project will be in place until October 2022, while the Government examines the effectiveness of the approach.
Question and Suggested Response
Q. How can the EI program provide better support to workers in seasonal industries? (1000 character maximum)
A. Work with relevant federal ministries and departments to ensure all migrant workers in Canada have full access to regular and special EI benefits, open work permits and access to permanent immigration status.
Make permanent the key indicators in the seasonal workers pilot project but expand to all regions.
Make permanent the temporary COVID measures for fishery and regular benefits, including reduced eligibility threshold and EI earning floor.
Completing and submitting the survey
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