Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332)

Rate of Unemployment

77.998 If the later of the weeks referred to in subsection 10(1) of the Act begins during the period beginning on April 6, 2025 and ending on July 12, 2025 and the regional rate of unemployment that applies to the claimant as determined under section 17 of these Regulations is less than 13.1%, the regional rate of unemployment that applies to the claimant is deemed to be

• (a) 7.1%, if the rate determined under section 17 is 6.1% or less;

• (b) the sum of 1% and the rate determined under section 17, if the latter is greater than 6.1% and less than 12.1%; or

• (c) 13.1%, if the rate determined under section 17 is 12.1% or greater.

PART VAdministrative Provisions

Reconsideration under Section 112 of the Act

• 78 (1) For the purposes of section 112 of the Act, a request for reconsideration of a decision of the Commission must be in writing and contain the following information:

  • (a) the name of the person making the request and their

    • (i) social insurance number or the business number assigned to them by the Minister of National Revenue, as the case may be,

    • (ii) address and telephone number, and

    • (iii) facsimile number and email address, if any;

  • (b) the date on which the decision was communicated to the person;

  • (c) the reasons why the person is requesting a reconsideration of the decision; and

  • (d) any relevant information that was not previously provided to the Commission.

• (2) A request for reconsideration must be filed with the Commission at the address, facsimile number or email address — or in accordance with the electronic filing procedure — provided by the Commission on the website of the Department of Employment and Social Development.

79 The Commission must render decisions on requests for reconsideration without delay.

Suspension of Benefits Pending Appeal

80 Benefits are not payable in accordance with a decision of the Employment Insurance Section of the Social Security Tribunal if, within 21 days after the day on which a decision is given, the Commission makes an application for leave to appeal to the Appeal Division of that Tribunal on the ground that the Employment Insurance Section has erred in law.

81 If the Commission makes an application under the Federal Courts Act for judicial review of a decision of the Appeal Division of the Social Security Tribunal, benefits are not payable in respect of the claim for benefits that is the object of the decision until the final determination of the application for judicial review.

• 82 (1) If a decision of the General Division of the Social Security Tribunal that declares a provision of the Act or these Regulations to be ultra vires is appealed by the Commission to the Appeal Division of that Tribunal, benefits are not payable in respect of the claim for benefits that is the object of the decision — nor in respect of any other claim for benefits made after the decision of the General Division, if benefits would not be payable except for that decision — until

  • (a) the final determination of the appeal by the Appeal Division; or

  • (b) the final determination of any application made by the Commission under the Federal Courts Act for judicial review of the final determination of the appeal by the Appeal Division, if the final determination of the appeal declares the provision of the Act or these Regulations to be ultra vires.

• (2) If the Commission makes an application under the Federal Courts Act for judicial review of a decision of the Appeal Division of the Social Security Tribunal that declares a provision of the Act or these Regulations to be ultra vires, benefits are not payable in respect of the claim for benefits that is the object of the decision — nor in respect of any other claim for benefits made after the decision of the Appeal Division, if benefits would not be payable except for that decision — until the final determination of the application for judicial review.

83 [Repealed, SOR/2013-64, s. 2]

84 [Repealed, SOR/2013-64, s. 2]

85 [Repealed, SOR/2013-64, s. 2]

86 [Repealed, SOR/2013-64, s. 2]

87 [Repealed, SOR/2013-64, s. 2]

Payment of Benefits Pending a Coverage Decision

• 88 (1) Subject to subsection (2), where a request is made to an officer of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency under paragraph 90(1)(a), (b), (c) or (d) of the Act for a ruling on the question of whether a claimant is or was employed in insurable employment for any number of hours in a particular period of employment or alleged employment, no benefits are payable in respect of any hour that is the subject of the ruling until the later of

  • (a) the day on which the officer's ruling on the question becomes final; and

  • (b) the day on which

    • (i) where an appeal from the ruling of that officer is made to the Minister of National Revenue, the decision of the Minister becomes final,

    • (ii) where an appeal from the decision of the Minister of National Revenue is filed with the Tax Court of Canada pursuant to section 103 of the Act, the decision of the Tax Court becomes final,

    • (iii) where an application is made to the Federal Court of Appeal pursuant to section 28 of the Federal Courts Act to review and set aside the decision of the Tax Court of Canada, the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal becomes final, or

    • (iv) if an application is made to the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal from the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal, the final decision of the Supreme Court of Canada is given.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the claimant qualifies to receive benefits under the Act on the basis of hours of insurable employment other than the hours that are the subject of the application.

Social Insurance Numbers

• 89 (1) Every person employed in insurable employment who is required by section 138 of the Act to have a Social Insurance Number and who has not yet applied to be registered in the register maintained by the Commission under subsection 28.1(2) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act shall, within three days after the day on which the employment begins, apply to the Commission to be registered.

• (2) An employer who hires a person in insurable employment shall ask the employee, within three days after the day on which the employment begins, to inform the employer of their Social Insurance Number.

• (3) Every person who becomes employed in insurable employment shall, within three days after the day on which the employment begins, inform their employer of their Social Insurance Number.

• (4) However, a person who becomes employed in insurable employment before being registered shall inform their employer of their Social Insurance Number within three days after the day on which they receive it.

• (5) An employer who is unable to ascertain the Social Insurance Number of a person who becomes employed in insurable employment shall, within six days after the day on which the employment begins, report the matter to the local office of the Commission and provide it with the information necessary to identify the person.

• (6) In the case of a person who is employed in insurable employment, when the period of their Social Insurance Number validity has been extended, a new period of validity has been assigned to their number, or a new Social Insurance Number has been assigned to them, that person shall inform their employer of that change within three days after the day on which they are informed of that change.

Electronic Systems

90 Where any information is provided to the Commission in electronic or other form for the purposes of the Act or the regulations made under the Act, it shall be provided in a form and manner approved by the Commission.

• 91 (1) A claimant who makes an initial claim for benefits, or a claim for benefits for a week of unemployment, by telephone or other electronic means, and provides the information required by section 50 of the Act, is deemed

  • (a) to have expressed an intention to make a claim for benefits and to have made such a claim for the purposes of section 48, 49 or 152.1 of the Act, as the case may be; and

  • (b) to have supplied the information recorded on the dated printout from the Commission's computerized benefit pay system as responses to the questions posed by the interactive response system by telephone or other electronic means.

• (2) A claimant who provides their Social Insurance Number and the following information by telephone or other electronic means is deemed to have signed their respective claim for benefit:

  • (a) in the case of an initial claim for benefits, their date of birth and, if the initial claim is made by electronic means, the maiden name of the claimant's mother; and

  • (b) in the case of a claim for benefits for a week of unemployment, their personal identification number.

• (3) A claim for benefits that is made by the means referred to in subsection (1) is deemed to have been made on the day that the information is received and recorded by the Commission's computerized benefit pay system.

• (4) For greater certainty, sections 38 and 135 of the Act apply to a declaration made by electronic means.

• (5) The acts and omissions specified in subsections 38(1) and 135(1) of the Act are deemed to include the acts and omissions of a person who knowingly attempts to interfere with the operation of the electronic systems used in the administration of the Act, and the penalty provided for by subsection 38(2) of the Act and the punishment provided for by subsection 135(3) of the Act are deemed to include the right to refuse access to those electronic systems to such a person.

Direct Deposit of Benefits

• 92 (1) For the purposes of this section, sections 2 and 4 to 8 of the Direct Deposit Regulations apply.

• (2) Subject to subsection (7), a claimant shall have their benefits deposited directly to their bank account if the claimant has provided the Commission with the number of an active account registered in the claimant's name in a financial institution in Canada.

• (3) A claimant is responsible for the accuracy of the data supplied by the claimant in order to register for the direct deposit of benefits.

• (4) In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the following documents together constitute evidence of the transfer of funds to a claimant's account and the payment of benefits to the claimant:

  • (a) a document certified by a person acting for the Commission to be an extract from the record authorizing a direct deposit transaction, in respect of the claimant, to be directed to the financial institution where the account of the claimant is located; and

  • (b) a certified extract of the records of that financial institution indicating the crediting of the amount of the deposit to the account of the claimant.

• (5) In order to terminate the direct deposit of benefits, the claimant shall notify the Commission.

• (6) For greater certainty, sections 38 and 135 of the Act apply to declarations made in the context of the payment of benefits under this section.

• (7) The acts and omissions specified in subsections 38(1) and 135(1) of the Act are deemed to include the acts or omissions of a person who knowingly attempts to interfere with the operation of the electronic systems used for the direct deposit of benefits, and the penalty provided for by subsection 38(2) of the Act and the punishment provided for by subsection 135(3) of the Act are deemed to include the right to refuse access to those electronic systems to such a person.

• (8) Unless otherwise advised by the claimant, the Commission may redirect the deposit of benefits from an active account at a financial institution the number of which was provided to the Commission by the claimant to another financial institution, branch or active account number when the financial institution notifies the Commission of a change of the financial institution, branch or account number.

PART VIAlternate Access to Special Benefits

• 93 (1) An insured person who does not qualify to receive benefits under section 7 of the Act and who is claiming special benefits qualifies to receive the special benefits if the person

  • (a) has had an interruption of earnings from employment; and

  • (b) has had 600 or more hours of insurable employment in their qualifying period.

• (2) Notwithstanding section 9 of the Act, where an insured person who qualifies under subsection (1) to receive special benefits makes an initial claim for benefits, a benefit period shall be established in respect of the person and, once it is established, special benefits are payable to the person in accordance with this section for each week of unemployment that falls in the benefit period.

• (3) Subject to subsection (4), sections 22 to 23.3 of the Act apply to the payment of special benefits under this section.

• (4) Notwithstanding section 18 of the Act, a claimant is not entitled to be paid special benefits for a working day, in a benefit period established under this section, in respect of which the claimant fails to prove that on that day the claimant was

  • (a) unable to work because of an illness, injury or quarantine referred to in subsection 40(4) or (5) and that the claimant would otherwise be available for work; or

  • (b) entitled to benefits under section 22, 23, 23.1, 23.2 or 23.3 of the Act.

• (4.1) A claimant to whom benefits are payable under any of sections 23 to 23.3 of the Act and whose claim for benefits because of illness, injury or quarantine is made for a week that begins on or after the day on which this subsection comes into force is not disentitled under paragraph (4)(a) for failing to prove that they would have been available for work were it not for the illness, injury or quarantine.

• (5) Subject to section 18 of the Act, regular benefits and additional special benefits are payable for a week of unemployment to a claimant who has received special benefits under this section where

  • (a) the claimant has accumulated, since the beginning of their benefit period, a number of hours of insurable employment that, when added to the number of those hours in their qualifying period, equal or exceed the number of hours set out in the table to subsection 7(2) of the Act in relation to the regional rate of unemployment that was applicable to the claimant at the beginning of their benefit period; and

  • (b) any regular benefits or additional special benefits are payable to the claimant in that benefit period in accordance with the Act, based on the hours of insurable employment in the claimant's qualifying period.

• (6) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of the Act and these Regulations apply to claimants claiming benefits under this section.

PART VIITransitional Provisions and Coming into Force

Transitional Provisions

94 During the period beginning on June 30, 1996 and ending on January 4, 1997, a reference to "hours" in each of the following provisions shall be read as a reference to "weeks", with such modifications as the circumstances require:

• (a) subsection 35(3);

• (b) paragraph 35(7)(e);

• (c) subparagraph 37(2)(c)(ii);

• (d) subparagraph 56(2)(b)(iv);

• (e) section 88; and

• (f) subsection 93(5).