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Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332)

Regulations are current to 2024-02-20 and last amended on 2023-12-08. Previous Versions

Employment Insurance Regulations

SOR/96-332

EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT

Registration 1996-06-28

Employment Insurance Regulations

P.C. 1996-1056 1996-06-28

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Immigration, pursuant to subsections 5(4), (6) and (7), paragraphs 7(4)(c), 7.1(6)(b) and 8(2)(a), section 16, paragraph 18(b), subsections 19(1), (3) and (4), section 24, paragraph 25(1)(b), subsection 36(2), section 37, subsections 42(3) and 50(4), section 54, subsections 55(1) and 60(3), sections 69, 109 and 110, subsections 111(5) and 114(1), section 116, paragraph 121(2)(b) and sections 123, 139, 143, 153.1 and 167 of the Employment Insurance ActFootnote a and paragraph 5(6)(g) set out in section 2 of Schedule II and section 14 set out in section 6 of Schedule II to that Act, hereby approves the annexed Employment Insurance Regulations, made by the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission.

Interpretation

  •  (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in these Regulations.

    Act

    Act means the Employment Insurance Act. (Loi)

    pay period

    pay period means the period in respect of which earnings are paid to or enjoyed by an insured person. (période de paie)

    self-employed person

    self-employed person, other than in sections 30 and 35, has the same meaning as in subsection 152.01(1) of the Act. (travailleur indépendant)

  • (2) For the purposes of these Regulations and section 5 of the Act, international organization means

    • (a) any specialized agency of which Canada is a member that is brought into relationship with the United Nations in accordance with article 63 of the Charter of the United Nations; and

    • (b) any international organization of which Canada is a member, the primary purpose of which is the maintenance of international peace or the economic or social well-being of a community of nations. (organisme international)

  • (3) The following definitions apply in these Regulations and in subsections 23.1(2), 23.2(1), 23.3(1), 152.06(1), 152.061(1) and 152.062(1) of the Act.

    family member

    family member, in relation to an individual, means any one of the following:

    • (a) the spouse or common-law partner of the individual;

    • (b) a child of the individual or a child of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

    • (c) a parent of the individual or a spouse or common-law partner of the parent;

    • (d) a child of the individual’s parent or a child of the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s parent;

    • (e) a grandparent of the individual or of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner or the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s grandparent;

    • (f) a grandchild of the individual or of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner or the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s grandchild;

    • (g) the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s child or of the child of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

    • (h) a parent, or the spouse or common-law partner of a parent, of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

    • (i) the spouse or common-law partner of a child of the individual’s parent or of a child of the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s parent;

    • (j) a child of a parent of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner or a child of the spouse or common-law partner of the parent of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

    • (k) an uncle or aunt of the individual or of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner or the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s uncle or aunt;

    • (l) a nephew or niece of the individual or of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner or the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s nephew or niece;

    • (m) a current or former foster parent of the individual or of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

    • (n) a current or former foster child of the individual or the spouse or common-law partner of that child;

    • (o) a current or former ward of the individual or of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

    • (p) a current or former guardian of the individual or the spouse or common-law partner of that guardian;

    • (q) a person, whether or not related to the individual by marriage, common-law partnership, or any legal parent-child relationship, whom the individual considers to be like a close relative or who considers the individual to be like a close relative. (membre de la famille)

    nurse practitioner

    nurse practitioner means a registered nurse who, under the laws of a province, is entitled to practise as a nurse practitioner — or under an equivalent designation — and to autonomously make diagnoses, order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe substances and treat patients. (infirmier praticien)

  • (4) For the purpose of the definition family member in subsection (3), guardian means a person who is legally authorized to act on behalf of a minor or incapable adult and includes a tutor, curator, mandatary acting under a protection mandate or any person who is appointed to act in a similar capacity and ward means a person for whom a guardian is appointed.

  • (5) The following definitions apply in these Regulations and in paragraphs 23.‍1(2)‍(b), 23.‍2(1)‍(a), 23.‍3(1)‍(a), 152.‍06(1)‍(b), 152.‍061(1)‍(a) and 152.‍062(1)‍(a) of the Act.

    care

    care means all care that is required because of the state of health of a family member referred to in subsections 23.1(2) or 152.06(1) of the Act, of a critically ill child or of a critically ill adult, other than the care provided by a health care professional. (soins)

    support

    support means all psychological or emotional support that is required because of the state of health of a family member referred to in subsections 23.1(2) or 152.06(1) of the Act, of a critically ill child or of a critically ill adult. (soutien)

  • (6) The following definition applies in these Regulations and in subsection 23.2(1) and 152.061(1) of the Act.

    critically ill child

    critically ill child means a person who is under 18 years of age on the day on which the period referred to in subsection 23.2(3) or 152.061(3) of the Act begins, whose baseline state of health has significantly changed and whose life is at risk as a result of an illness or injury. (enfant gravement malade)

  • (7) The following definition applies in these Regulations and in subsections 23.3(1) and 152.062(1) of the Act.

    critically ill adult

    critically ill adult means a person who is 18 years of age or older on the day on which the period referred to in subsection 23.3(3) or 152.062(3) of the Act begins, whose baseline state of health has significantly changed and whose life is at risk as a result of an illness or injury. (adulte gravement malade)

  • SOR/2010-10, s. 1
  • SOR/2013-102, s. 1
  • SOR/2017-226, s. 1

Insurable Employment

Employment Included in Insurable Employment

  •  (1) Employment in Canada by Her Majesty in right of a province that would, except for paragraph 5(2)(c) of the Act, be insurable employment is included in insurable employment if the government of the province enters into an agreement with the Commission whereby that government agrees to waive exclusion and to insure all its employees engaged in such employment.

  • (2) For greater certainty, employment in Canada by Her Majesty in right of a province, for the purposes of subsection (1), includes only employment in Canada of employees who are appointed and remunerated under an Act governing that province's public service, or who are employed in Canada by a corporation, commission or other body that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of the province.

  •  (1) Employment in Canada by the government of a country other than Canada or of any political subdivision of that other country, or by an international organization, that would, except for paragraphs 5(2)(d) and (e) of the Act, be insurable employment, may be included in insurable employment if the employing government or the international organization, as the case may be, consents in writing to its inclusion.

  • (2) Where a consent has been given pursuant to the Unemployment Insurance Regulations, as they read immediately before June 30, 1996, and has not been revoked, it shall be considered to be a consent referred to in subsection (1).

 Employment on a ship outside Canada or partly outside Canada that would be insurable employment if it were in Canada is included in insurable employment if that employment is

  • (a) on a ship of Canadian registry or licence, except where that ship is regularly employed in voyages between ports outside Canada and has been chartered to a person resident outside Canada; or

  • (b) on a ship, other than a ship of Canadian registry or licence, where

    • (i) the ship has been chartered to a person resident in Canada and is regularly employed in voyages from a port in Canada,

    • (ii) the operation of the ship is principally controlled in Canada and regularly employed in voyages from a port in Canada and the owner or managing owner of the ship resides or has a place of business in Canada, or

    • (iii) any employment on that ship is subject to the provisions of the Act by virtue of an agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of the jurisdiction in which that ship is registered.

 Employment outside Canada, other than employment on a ship described in section 4, is included in insurable employment if

  • (a) the person so employed ordinarily resides in Canada;

  • (b) that employment is outside Canada or partly outside Canada by an employer who is resident or has a place of business in Canada;

  • (c) the employment would be insurable employment if it were in Canada; and

  • (d) the employment is not insurable employment under the laws of the country in which it takes place.

 Employment in any of the following employments, unless it is excluded from insurable employment by any provision of these Regulations, is included in insurable employment:

  • (a) employment of a union member by the member's union in conducting union business, other than picketing in a labour dispute;

  • (b) employment of a person as an apprentice or trainee, notwithstanding that the person does not perform any services for their employer;

  • (c) employment of a person as a member of the clergy or as a member of a religious order;

  • (d) employment of a person in a barbering or hairdressing establishment, where the person

    • (i) provides any of the services that are normally provided in such an establishment, and

    • (ii) is not the owner or operator of the establishment;

  • (e) employment of a person as a driver of a taxi, commercial bus, school bus or any other vehicle that is used by a business or public authority for carrying passengers, where the person is not the owner of more than 50 per cent of the vehicle or the owner or operator of the business or the operator of the public authority;

  • (f) employment of a person who holds an office, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Pension Plan,

    • (i) in or under any department or other portion of the federal public administration set out in Schedule I, II, III, IV or V to the Financial Administration Act,

    • (ii) where the person is appointed and remunerated under an Act governing the public service of a province, the government of which has, pursuant to subsection 2(1), agreed to insure all of its employees,

    • (iii) where the person holds the office in or under a corporation, commission or other body that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of a province referred to in subparagraph (ii), or

    • (iv) where the person holds the office in a union or an association of unions to which the person was elected by popular vote, or was elected or appointed to that office in the union or association in a representative capacity, and that employment is not included in insurable employment by paragraph (a); and

  • (g) employment of a person who is placed in that employment by a placement or employment agency to perform services for and under the direction and control of a client of the agency, where that person is remunerated by the agency for the performance of those services.

  • SOR/97-31, s. 1
  • SOR/2009-266, s. 1

Employment Excluded from Insurable Employment

 The following employments are excluded from insurable employment:

  • (a) [Repealed, SOR/97-310, s. 1]

  • (b) employment of a person who is a member of a religious order, if the person has taken a vow of poverty and the person's remuneration is paid directly, or by that person, to the order;

  • (c) employment in respect of which premiums are payable under

    • (i) the unemployment insurance law of any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, by reason of the Agreement between Canada and the United States Respecting Unemployment Insurance, signed on March 6 and 12, 1942, or

    • (ii) the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act of the United States;

  • (d) employment in Canada of a person who resides in a country other than Canada, if premiums are payable in respect of services performed by the person in Canada under the unemployment insurance laws of that other country;

  • (e) employment of a person for the purpose of a rescue operation, if the person is not regularly employed by the employer who employs them for that purpose; and

  • (f) employment under the Self-employment employment benefit or the Job Creation Partnerships employment benefit established by the Commission under section 59 of the Act or under a similar benefit that is provided by a provincial government or other organization and is the subject of an agreement under section 63 of the Act.

  • SOR/97-310, s. 1
  •  (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), the following employments are excluded from insurable employment:

    • (a) employment of a person by an employer, other than as an entertainer, in connection with a circus, fair, parade, carnival, exposition, exhibition or other similar activity if the person

      • (i) is not regularly employed by that employer, and

      • (ii) is employed by that employer in that employment for less than seven days in a year; and

    • (b) [Repealed, SOR/98-588, s. 1]

    • (c) employment of a person by Her Majesty in right of Canada, the government of a province, a municipality or a school board in connection with a referendum or election to public office if the person

      • (i) is not regularly employed by that employer, and

      • (ii) is employed by that employer in that employment for less than 35 hours in any year after 1998.

  • (2) Where an employment that has been excluded from insurable employment under paragraph (1)(a) or (c) becomes a regular employment, the employment is insurable employment beginning on the day or at the hour, as the case may be, that the employment became a regular employment.

  • (3) Where a person has been employed by the same employer in one or more employments that have been excluded from insurable employment under paragraph (1)(a) and the total period of those employments exceeds six days in the same year, the employments, taken together, are insurable employment beginning on the day when the total period of employment began.

  • (4) Where a person has been employed by the same employer in one or more employments that have been excluded from insurable employment under paragraph (1)(c) and the total period of those employments exceeds 34 hours in the same year, the employments, taken together, are insurable employment beginning at the hour when the total period of employment began.

  • SOR/98-588, s. 1
  •  (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

    agriculture

    agriculture means the operations of farming that are carried out for the benefit of any person who is a farmer and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes

    • (a) where carried out on a farm

      • (i) clearing land for cultivation,

      • (ii) cultivation of the soil,

      • (iii) conservation of the soil, including the construction, maintenance and operation of tile drainage systems, ditches, canals, reservoirs or waterways exclusively for the purposes of farming,

      • (iv) harvesting, storing or grading any natural product of farming,

      • (v) preparing land for the growing and harvesting of wild berries,

      • (vi) raising bees and producing honey,

      • (vii) breeding or raising animals or birds, or producing eggs,

      • (viii) dairy farming and the processing of milk, butter or cheese that is produced on that farm, and

      • (ix) producing maple sap, maple syrup or maple sugar; and

    • (b) where carried out on or off a farm

      • (i) offering for sale or selling any of the products of the operations referred to in subparagraphs (a) (i) to (ix), if the offering for sale or selling is incidental to those operations, and

      • (ii) exhibiting, advertising, assembling, freezing, storing, grading, preparing, processing, packing and transporting the products described in subparagraph (i), if those operations are incidental to the offering for sale or selling described in that subparagraph. (agriculture)

    agricultural enterprise

    agricultural enterprise means the business of agriculture carried on for the benefit of any person who is a farmer. (entreprise agricole)

    horticulture

    horticulture means the following operations and includes all the services incidental to the carrying out of those operations, if the services are performed at the place where the operations are carried on:

    • (a) the propagating, producing, raising or harvesting of

      • (i) vegetables, flowers, shrubs or ornamental grasses, and

      • (ii) seeds, seedlings, grafts or cuttings of vegetables, flowers, shrubs or ornamental grasses; and

    • (b) landscape gardening where it is incidental to the carrying out of

      • (i) any of the operations described in paragraph (a), or

      • (ii) agriculture. (horticulture)

  • (2) The employment of a person by an employer in agriculture, an agricultural enterprise or horticulture that would otherwise be insurable is excluded from insurable employment if the person is employed by the employer in that employment for

    • (a) less than seven days in a year; or

    • (b) seven days or more in a year and is not remunerated in cash by the employer for any part of that employment.

  • SOR/97-31, s. 2
 

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