To all Chairpersons and Members of Employment Insurance Boards of Referees

Subject: Outside Canada – Amendments to Section 55 of the Employment Insurance Regulations

The Employment Insurance Act only allows the payment of regular or sickness benefits to claimants who are not in Canada pursuant to the exceptions in subsections 55(1) and 55.01(1) of the Employment Insurance Regulations (Regulations).

Prior to 2008, the exceptions in subsections 55(1) and 55.01(1) were interpreted to mean that the exceptions were to be exclusive and not to be combined.

However, on June 19, 2008, a Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) decision [A-304-07] allowed receiving benefits during 14 days of an absence from Canada (the first 7 days to visit a seriously ill immediate family member, and another 7 days to attend their funeral). The Court allowed the combination specifically noting that, had the claimant returned to Canada in between the two events, she would have been entitled to the second exception and that it was unreasonable, given the circumstances, to expect the claimant to return to Canada between the two events.

Given this interpretation of the Regulations by the Court, subsections 55(1) and 55.01(1) of the Regulations has been amended to conform to the jurisprudence and to allow for a combination of exceptions in the case where a claimant is absent from Canada to visit a sick family member and then attend the funeral of the same member.

This amendment clarifies that the other exceptions cannot be combined and rectifies any ambiguity in the interpretation of the Regulations.

Given the jurisprudence in the FCA decision [A-304-07], the outside Canada provisions in subsections 55(1) and 55.01(1) are already being administered by the Commission to allow this specific combination of exceptions.

This decision will be added to the Quick Reference Tool in the next update.