Introduce a new EI benefit for self-employed Canadians, delivered through the tax system, that would provide unemployment assistance comparable to EI and lasting for as much as 26 weeks. This could provide support of nearly $15,500 when it is needed most.

Self-employed Canadians seeking to access this benefit would only be responsible to contribute the portion they would normally pay if they were a salaried employee. Further details regarding this benefit will be developed over the coming year with the launch of this new benefit happening in January 2023.

Strengthen rights for workers employed by digital platforms so that they are entitled to job protections under the Canada Labour Code and establish new provisions in the Income Tax Act to ensure this work counts toward EI and CPP while also making these platforms pay associated contributions as any employer would.

— Forward. For Everyone., retrieved 2021-09-02

Establish an EI Career Insurance Benefit. This benefit will be available to people who have worked continuously for the same employer for five or more years and are laid off when the business closes. The Career Insurance Benefit will kick in after regular EI ends, providing an additional 20% of insured earnings in the first year following the layoff, and an extra 10% in the second year. This will give workers up to an almost $16,900 over two years, providing significant help at a difficult time.

— Forward. For Everyone., retrieved 2021-09-02

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We will launch a Super EI that temporarily provides more generous benefits (75% of salary instead of 55%) when a province goes into recession (a 0.5% increase in the unemployment rate, as defined by the “Sahm Rule”). EI will return to normal levels once the recession is over, as evidenced by three months of job gains.

— Canada's Recovery Plan, retrieved 2021-08-18

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To help make ends meet while on EI, we’ll create a low income supplement so that no one who is relying on EI regular or special benefits to stay afloat receives less than $2,000 a month.

Particularly in the midst of a global health crisis, New Democrats know that there are circumstances where people leave a job voluntarily but still need support. That’s why we would make EI available to people who quit their jobs to go back to school, to provide necessary childcare, or to protect their health or the health of immunocompromised family members.

For many Canadians who need EI when they’re dealing with an illness, the current system falls far short and doesn’t provide the kind of help people actually need. To make sure that Canadians can count on EI when they’re dealing with a serious illness, a New Democrat government will extend sickness benefits from 15 to 50 weeks, and create a pilot project to allow workers with episodic illnesses and disabilities to access EI sickness benefits a day at a time, as they need them. This flexibility will help support those who want to continue to work while providing the seriously ill with the benefits they need.

New Democrats also understand that seasonal workers face particular challenges accessing EI. To help Canadians in seasonal industries bridge the gap between the end of EI and the start of seasonal work, we’ll bring back the former Extra Five Weeks pilot project and make it permanent, and we will restore the economic regions in the territories and PEI to their 2014 boundaries.

Parental leave should be available for all Canadian families, in the way that works best for them. Eighteen months of leave is an attractive option for many parents, but not many Canadians can afford to live on just 33 percent of their salary. New Democrats will bring in a new special leave that allows parents to take shorter parental leave at a higher replacement rate. We’ll also allow self-employed workers to opt-into parental benefits at any time before taking the leave, and move to double leave for parents of multiples.

Finally, we will also protect the EI Operating Account in law, so that future governments can’t raid it for general revenue. Premiums, which are currently at a historic low, will be frozen until the economy recovers.

— Ready for Better, retrieved 2021-08-27

For Canadians facing a serious illness, we’ll make Employment Insurance work better by extending sickness benefits to 50 weeks of coverage, and creating a pilot project to allow workers with episodic disabilities to access benefits as they need them.

— Ready for Better, retrieved 2021-08-27

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