Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
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Fact Sheet - Variable Entrance Requirements and Extended Employment Insurance Benefits
The Government of Canada is committed to taking steps to temporarily provide additional income support to unemployed workers facing transitions in tough economic times through Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
Access to Employment Insurance and Duration of Benefits
- Eligibility for and duration of Employment Insurance (EI) benefits is based on the number of insured hours worked and on the unemployment rate of the EI economic region in which an individual lives—not the province or territory. This ensures that areas facing higher unemployment rates have lower entrance requirements and longer benefit durations.
- Through the Variable Entrance Requirement (VER), the current EI program has built-in flexibility specifically designed to respond automatically to changes in local labour markets, with entrance requirements easing and the duration of benefits increasing as the unemployment rate rises.
- These requirements are adjusted on a monthly basis to reflect the latest regional unemployment rates. This ensures that the amount of assistance provided increases as the unemployment rate rises, and that support flows to regions and communities that are most in need.
- The following table illustrates the effect of the VER.
|
EI Region |
Month |
Unemployment Rate (%) |
Number of Insured Hours Required to Qualify for Regular Benefits |
Minimum Number of Weeks Payable for Regular Benefits |
Maximum Number of Weeks Payable for Regular Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Toronto (ON) |
November 2008 |
6.8 |
665 |
15 |
38 |
|
January 2009 |
7.2 |
630 |
17 |
40 |
|
|
Kitchener (ON) |
November 2008 |
5.3 |
700 |
14 |
36 |
|
January 2009 |
7.7 |
630 |
17 |
40 |
|
|
Southern Interior (BC) |
November 2008 |
7.5 |
630 |
17 |
40 |
|
January 2009 |
8.1 |
595 |
18 |
42 |
|
|
Montérégie (QC) |
November 2008 |
7.9 |
630 |
17 |
40 |
|
January 2009 |
6.8 |
665 |
15 |
38 |
|
|
Halifax (NS) |
November 2008 |
5.3 |
700 |
14 |
36 |
|
January 2009 |
5.3 |
700 |
14 |
36 |
Vignette – Variable Entrance Requirement
Paul is a worker in Kitchener who has recently been laid off from a full-time job he has held for over ten years. The unemployment rate in Kitchener has been increasing over the past few months. As a result of the Variable Entrance Requirement, the number of hours Paul needs to qualify for EI benefits was reduced by 70 hours, and the maximum duration of benefits increased by four weeks. Therefore, Paul would currently be able to access EI benefits with 630 hours, and he would be eligible to receive a maximum of 40 weeks of EI benefits.
New in Canada’s Economic Action Plan
- New measures introduced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan will provide nationally the benefits of the current five-week pilot project that until now has only been provided in regions with the highest unemployment rates.
- This will provide regular benefits claimants in regions not currently receiving additional EI benefits with five extra weeks of benefits. In addition, the maximum duration of benefits available under the EI program will be increased by five weeks, raising it from 45 to 50 weeks (at an estimated cost of $1.15 billion for both measures).
- Claimants in current pilot regions who did not receive the full five weeks of additional benefits under the existing pilot project will be entitled to the remaining weeks up to five weeks maximum. For example, if a claimant only received three additional weeks of benefits under the current five-week pilot before reaching the maximum benefit entitlement in his or her region, that person will be entitled to receive two more weeks of benefits under the new measure.
- This will provide all regular EI clients with the assurance that they will have financial support for a longer period while they find new employment, should it be required. It will provide additional income support to unemployed Canadians who would otherwise have exhausted their benefits.
- The following table illustrates the impact of the new measures.
|
EI Region |
Before and After |
Unemployment Rate (%) |
Number of Insured Hours Required to Qualify for Regular Benefits |
Minimum Number of Weeks Payable for Regular Benefits |
Maximum Number of Weeks Payable for Regular Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Toronto (ON) |
Before Measures |
7.2 |
630 |
17 |
40 |
|
After Measures |
7.2 |
630 |
22 |
45 |
|
|
Kitchener (ON) |
Before Measures |
7.7 |
630 |
17 |
40 |
|
After Measures |
7.7 |
630 |
22 |
45 |
|
|
Southern Interior (BC) |
Before Measures |
8.1 |
595 |
18 |
42 |
|
After Measures |
8.1 |
595 |
23 |
47 |
|
|
Montérégie (QC) |
Before Measures |
6.8 |
665 |
15 |
38 |
|
After Measures |
6.8 |
665 |
20 |
43 |
|
|
Halifax (NS) |
Before Measures |
5.3 |
700 |
14 |
36 |
|
After Measures |
5.3 |
700 |
19 |
41 |
Vignette – Extended Duration of EI Benefits
Suzanne is a worker in Oshawa who has recently been laid off from a full-time job she has held for over five years. In recent months, since the unemployment rate in Oshawa has been increasing, access to EI has automatically adjusted, with the number of hours needed to qualify declining and the duration of benefits increasing. At the current 7.7 per cent unemployment rate for Oshawa, Suzanne would have been eligible to receive a maximum of 40 weeks of EI benefits. Under the proposed temporary EI measures, Suzanne would receive five weeks of extended benefits. As a result, she would be eligible to receive a maximum of 45 weeks of EI benefits.
