12. (1) An insured person who is not qualified to receive benefits under section 7 of the Act and who is claiming special benefits qualifies to receive the special benefits if the person has at least $3,760 of insurable earnings from employment as a fisher in their qualifying period.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraphs 8(2)(b) and (7)(b), when an insured person who qualifies under subsection (1) makes an initial claim for benefits, a benefit period shall be established for 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 23.1 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) of the Employment Insurance Regulations and that the claimant would otherwise be available for work; or

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

(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 the benefit period, insurable earnings from employment as a fisher that, when added to the insurable earnings from employment as a fisher in the claimant’s qualifying period, are equal to or exceed

  • (i) in the case of a new-entrant or re-entrant, $5,500, and

  • (ii) in any other case, the applicable amount of insurable earnings in employment as a fisher set out in the schedule, determined by reference to the week in which the benefit period began; and

• (b) pursuant to Part VIII of the Act, any regular benefits or additional special benefits are payable in that benefit period, based on the claimant’s insurable earnings from employment as a fisher 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.

13. (1) Where a fisher is claiming benefits under the Employment Insurance Regulations, the following provisions apply:

• (a) earnings from employment as a fisher shall be converted

  • (i) to hours of insurable employment as a fisher by dividing those earnings in the qualifying period by the minimum wage, or

  • (ii) to weeks of insurable employment as a fisher by dividing those earnings in the qualifying period by the product of the minimum wage multiplied by 35; and

• (b) if the date of delivery of a catch falls within the rate calculation period referred to in section 14 of the Act and used for determining benefits other than those for fishers, the earnings of the fisher from employment as a fisher, as determined in accordance with subsections 5(2) and (3), shall be allocated equally to each day of the fishing trip, and earnings for any day falling outside the rate calculation period shall not be included in the calculation of the benefit rate.

(2) A week of insurable employment as a fisher, as determined by using the calculation set out in paragraph (1)(a), is a week of insurable employment for the purposes of subsection 7(4) of the Act but not for any other provision of section 7 of the Act.

(3) The calculation set out in paragraph (1)(a) shall be used when it is necessary, for the purposes of the Act or any regulations made under the Act, to convert earnings to hours or weeks.