Employment Insurance Act

Marginal note:Annual premium rate setting

• 66 (1) Subject to subsection (7) and section 66.3, the Board shall set the premium rate for each year in order to generate just enough premium revenue during that year to ensure that at the end of that year

  • (a) the total of the amounts credited to the Employment Insurance Operating Account after December 31, 2008 is equal to the total of the amounts charged to that Account after that date; and

  • (b) the forecast fair market value of the Board’s reserve is equal to the amount determined under subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Premium rate for 2010

  (1.1) Despite subsection (1), the premium rate for the year 2010 is 1.73%.

• Marginal note:Factors

  (2) Subject to any regulations made under subsections 66.1(2) and 66.2(2), the Board shall set the premium rate based on

  • (a) the information provided under sections 66.1 and 66.2;

  • (b) the investment income earned by the Board;

  • (c) the Board’s obligation to manage a reserve, the amount of which is referred to in subsection (5);

  • (d) any regulations made under section 69;

  • (e) any changes, announced by the Minister on or before September 30 in a year, to payments to be made under paragraph 77(1)(a), (b) or (c) during the following year; and

  • (f) any other information that the Board considers relevant.

• (3) [No subsection (3)]

• Marginal note:Reserve

  (4) The Board’s reserve is equal to its financial assets less its financial liabilities.

• Marginal note:Indexation

  (5) The amount referred to in paragraph (1)(b) is equal to the amount of the payment made under section 70.1, indexed annually, on a compound basis, beginning in the year in which that payment is made, in accordance with the regulations.

• Marginal note:Regulations — indexation

  (6) On the joint recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Finance, the Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the method for indexing, for the purposes of subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Difference year to year

  (7) The premium rate may not be increased or decreased by more than fifteen one-hundredths of one per cent (0.15%) from one year to the next.

• Marginal note:Governor in Council — maximum change in premium rate

  (8) On the joint recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Finance, the Governor in Council may change the maximum percentage referred to in subsection (7) by which the premium rate may be increased or decreased from one year to the next, if the Governor in Council considers it to be in the public interest.

• Marginal note:Time limit

  (9) On or before November 14 in a year, the Board shall set the premium rate for the following year.