That's been a practice of ESDC for decades and decades now. Just about any reforms, even small ones, are tested by pilot projects only in certain EI administrative regions. That's a very sound practice, as long as a representative set of areas are chosen. Don't just take the high unemployment ones. Don't just take the low unemployment ones. Yes, you have to try that out, because it's easier said than done to devise an efficient scheme that's going to be solvent and that's not going to drain resources away from other unemployed workers, for example.
On April 20th, 2021. See this statement in context.