The federal government is setting a temporary minimum unemployment rate of 13.1 per cent for all employment insurance economic regions across Canada. The move, which took effect Aug. 9, is meant to recognize the ongoing unpredictability of the pandemic on the country’s labour market. The regional unemployment rate is part of the calculation that determines how many […]
British Columbia’s new health tax will cost the average worker nearly $3,000 a year in foregone wages, according to a new study released by the Fraser Institute. The health tax, which began gradually phasing out B.C.’s medical services plan premiums in January 2019, applies to employers with annual payrolls of $500,000 or more. In a […]
The federal government is seeking applicants for the positions of commissioner for employers and commissioner for workers in its Canada Employment Insurance Commission. The commissioners will be responsible for representing the views and positions of organizations and individuals that are clients of, or affected by, Employment and Social Development Canada’s programs and services, particularly the […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government plans to move out-of-work Canadians into the employment insurance system and provide parallel support for millions set to exhaust emergency pandemic aid who don’t have EI to fall back on. The $80-billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit is set to wind down over the coming weeks, with those who […]
A new report is urging the federal government to introduce new types of leave and make broad changes to employment insurance. The report, by the YWCA Canada and the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, is advocating for an equity-informed economic recovery plan that will ensure gender and sexual […]
British Columbia’s ministry of labour is introducing a new online portal to help the government process applications for temporary layoff extensions more quickly. In late June, the province extended the time period for temporary layoffs related to the coronavirus pandemic to a maximum of 24 weeks — up from 16 previously — expiring Aug. 30, following calls from opposition parties […]
The federal government is for the second time extending its program to subsidize wages in companies hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time until at least December. But the government is being warned it may have to move the end date into 2021. The program is the heart of the Liberals’ promise to help […]
More than eight million Canadians have received the $2,000 monthly Canada Emergency Response Benefit over the course of the pandemic. But labour experts say its very existence, while a triumph of policy-making on the fly, proves the need for significant reform to Canada’s employment insurance system. The pandemic quickly exposed long-standing issues with the EI […]
New draft regulations from the federal government would allow registered pension plans to borrow money and extend the deadline to retroactively credit pensionable service under a defined benefit plan in a bid to help plan sponsors maintain their pensions through the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the government’s coronavirus economic response plan, the regulations would apply to employers […]
The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for Uber drivers to take the next step in their fight to be recognized as employees. In a ruling Friday, the high court upheld an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that opened the door to a possible class-action suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation […]