Bill C-324 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (sickness benefits)

This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.

This bill was previously introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session.

Sponsor

Scott Simms  Liberal

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of Oct. 5, 2011
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Employment Insurance Act by reducing the number of hours of insurable employment required to qualify for benefits because of illness, injury or quarantine to 420 and increasing the maximum benefit period for illness, injury or quarantine to 30 weeks.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Employment Insurance ActRoutine Proceedings

October 5th, 2011 / 3:15 p.m.
See context

Liberal

Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-324, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (sickness benefits).

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be an injustice that just does not want to correct itself and the government does not seem to want to move on this.

The bill deals with sickness benefits pertaining to EI benefits. Under normal circumstances, if people lose their job, through no fault of their own, they would get benefits that extend up to about 50 weeks in areas of high unemployment. With respect to sickness benefits, people need not just 420 hours to qualify, which are normally required, but they need 600 hours, which creates that discrepancy. On the other side, benefits only stretch up to about 15 weeks. My bill would extend that beyond the 15 week period.

Let us face it, if people are sick to the point where they need EI on a longer term basis, 15 weeks is severely insufficient.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)