Spending
The bill will likely increase government spending, as more people will be able to claim EI benefits for a longer period.
C-265
Émilie Sansfaçon Act
Details
- Full Title
- An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (illness, injury or quarantine)
- First Reading
- February 4, 2021, Parliament 43, Session 2
- Type
- Private Member’s Bill
- Full Content
- https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/43-2/c-265
Summary
Bill C-265, also known as the Émilie Sansfaçon Act, aims to amend the Employment Insurance Act. The main change proposed by this bill is to increase the number of weeks that Employment Insurance (EI) benefits can be paid to people who are sick, injured, or quarantined. Currently, people can receive these benefits for a maximum of 15 weeks. This bill proposes increasing that maximum to 50 weeks.
The bill states that the House of Commons supported increasing sickness benefits to 50 weeks to help people with serious illnesses. The bill references Émilie Sansfaçon, who would have benefited from more sickness benefits to spend time with her family before passing away from cancer. The goal of the bill is to help people who are sick avoid difficult situations like the one Émilie Sansfaçon faced.
The specific sections of the Employment Insurance Act that are being changed are paragraph 12(3)(c) and paragraph 152.14(1)(c). Both of these paragraphs currently state that the maximum number of weeks for benefits due to illness, injury, or quarantine is 15. The bill replaces "15" with "50" in both of these paragraphs.
Finally, the bill says that it will come into effect on the earlier of two dates: the day it receives royal assent, or April 1, 2021. This means that if the bill is approved after April 1, 2021, it will be considered to have been in effect since that date.