• 3. (1) The Board shall, in accordance with subsection 21(3) of the Textile and Clothing Board Act, certify the persons or classes of persons who are eligible to apply for assistance under these Regulations.

• (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), no person or class of persons is eligible to apply for assistance under these Regulations in respect of a lay-off that occurred before December 19, 1970.

• 4. (1) Pre-retirement benefit may be paid by the Commission out of monies appropriated by Parliament for the purpose in an amount calculated in accordance with this Part to an employee resident in Canada where the Commission is satisfied that

  • (a) application for benefit under the Act has been made and any benefit entitlement thereunder has been exhausted; and

  • (b) a pre-retirement benefit period in respect of that employee has been established.

• (2) Payments of pre-retirement benefit to an employee pursuant to subsection (1) shall be suspended for such time as the certification referred to in paragraph 5(c) is suspended pursuant to section 6 in respect of that employee.

5. A pre-retirement benefit period is established in respect of an employee when, upon filing an application for pre-retirement benefit, he proves that

• (a) he had been employed by a Canadian producer in at least 10 of the 15 years immediately preceding a lay-off and that he was paid by a producer for at least 1,000 hours in each of those 10 years;

• (b) he was not less than 54 years of age but less than 65 years of age at the date of the lay-off; and

• (c) he has been certified by the Commission as a person resident in Canada

  • (i) for whom there is no present prospect of employment with or without further training or relocation assistance, or

  • (ii) who has accepted employment with earnings that are less than his average weekly insurable earnings.

6. The circumstances of every employee certified as required by paragraph 5(c) shall be reviewed at least once every twelve months by the Commission and if, upon review, any such employee does not meet the requirements of that paragraph the certification referred to therein shall be suspended.

• 7. (1) Where, in respect of an application for pre-retirement benefit, any employee or any person on his behalf makes a statement or representation that the employee knows to be false or misleading, the Commission may declare the employee to be disqualified from receiving pre-retirement benefit for a number of weeks not exceeding the first three of the weeks described in subsection (2) that occur after such day as the Commission may determine.

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a week described in this subsection is a week in respect of which an employee

  • (a) makes a claim for pre-retirement benefit in the manner prescribed by the Commission; and

  • (b) would, but for this section, be entitled to receive pre-retirement benefit.