Last week, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, announced the Government of Canada’s intent to introduce regulatory and legislative amendments to increase the number of weeks of benefits available for the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), and Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits.
The proposed changes, subject to Royal Assent, would:
- Increase number of wks available under Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) by 12 wks extending the max. duration of benefits through regulation from 26 wks to up to 38 wks;
- Increase number of wks available under Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) through regulation from the current 2 wks to 4 wks;
- Increase number of wks of EI regular benefits available by up to 24 wks to a max. of 50 wks through legislation, for claims made between Sept. 27, 2020 and Sept. 25, 2021.
- Self-employed workers who have opted in to EI program to access special benefits would be able to use a 2020 earnings threshold of $5,000, compared to previous threshold of $7,555.
