EI Emergency Response Benefit Extended

Summary#

This is Interim Order No. 9 Amending the Employment Insurance Act (Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit). It extends how long people can get the temporary EI emergency benefit for COVID-19 and adds rules about certain weeks and deadlines. The order is treated as having come into force on March 15, 2020, with one part effective on August 30, 2020.

What it does#

• Raises the maximum number of weeks someone can get the Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit from 24 weeks to 28 weeks.
• Says the actual maximum for a person is 28 minus any weeks they already received under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act or the Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act.
• Creates a special rule for the week beginning September 27, 2020: that week’s EI emergency benefit is not payable unless the person had already been paid or was payable the benefit for a week before that date.
• Limits the time to make a claim: a claim must not be made after December 2, 2020.
• Clarifies how the benefit is administered, including measures to allow direct deposit and to help incapacitated persons access the benefit.
• Confirms that when the Commission receives a claim, it will decide eligibility for the two-week period claimed and notify the claimant.

Who's affected#

• People who received or applied for the Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit (EI ERB).
• People who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), because those weeks reduce the new 28-week maximum.
• Claimants trying to start new regular EI or sickness claims around September 27, 2020, since special access rules apply.
• The Canada Employment Insurance Commission and the agencies that deliver EI, which handle eligibility checks and notifications.
• If it is unclear who is affected by a specific administrative change, the order itself is the controlling source.

Why it matters#

• More people can get extra weeks of pandemic income support: the cap goes up by 4 weeks (from 24 to 28), but that increase is reduced by any weeks already covered by CERB or CESB.
• The order is retroactive to March 15, 2020, so it affects benefit calculations for that whole period.
• The special rule for the week of September 27, 2020 and the December 2, 2020 claim deadline could change whether some people get payments for late-September claims.
• These are temporary, pandemic-related changes to how EI emergency benefits are counted and delivered during 2020.