EI Emergency Response Benefit Order

Summary#

This is Interim Order No. 6 Amending the Employment Insurance Act (Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit). It sets rules for a temporary employment-insurance style benefit for people affected by COVID‑19, applies those rules retroactively to March 15, 2020 (at 00:00:05 a.m.), and includes limits so the measures stop no later than December 31, 2020.

What it does#

• Creates the Employment Insurance Emergency Response Benefit and says which parts of the Employment Insurance Act apply to it, with specific adjustments to make the program work in a pandemic.
• Adapts rules about eligibility, claims, decisions, and reviews so they fit this emergency benefit instead of regular EI procedures.
• Allows the responsible body (the Commission) to pay the benefit early, before the normal payment time.
• Says people who get other specified financial aid under section 63 can still receive the emergency benefit.
• Requires employers to give the Minister any information needed about a claim.
• Treats some earlier EI claims made on or after March 15, 2020 as claims for the emergency benefit, and adjusts how weeks already paid are counted or topped up.
• Sets rules for dealing with overpayments, including that small or uncollectible amounts can be written off (for example, amounts that do not exceed $100).
• Adapts reconsideration and review timelines and filing details (for example, a reconsideration request must be made within 30 days, or a longer time the Commission allows).
• Declares the Interim Order applies even if other parts of the Employment Insurance Act conflict with it.

Who's affected#

• Workers who stopped working for reasons related to COVID‑19.
• People who are otherwise eligible for regular EI or sickness benefits, or who exhausted EI regular or fishing benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020.
• Employers, because they may be asked to provide information about claims.
• The Canada Employment Insurance Commission and program administrators who run and decide on claims.
• It is possible other EI participants and administrators will notice changes in how existing rules are applied. If that is unclear for a specific situation, the Interim Order text should be consulted.

Why it matters#

• It gives a legal framework for an EI-style emergency benefit that many people used instead of or alongside the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (the Interim Order aligns some administrative rules with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act).
• The retroactive start date (March 15, 2020) affects which weeks are covered and whether earlier EI payments will be converted into or topped up by this emergency benefit.
• The write-off and adaptation rules can affect whether overpayments are repaid, and in some cases they may not be collected (for example, small amounts like $100, or when collection would cause undue hardship).
• The measures are temporary and stop by December 31, 2020 at the latest, so the protections and special rules are time-limited.