Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles

15.7.0 Special benefits

Once a fishing benefit period has been established, EI special benefits such as sickness, maternity, parental, compassionate care and parents of critically ill children (PCIC) benefits are payable, if the claimant meets the entitlement conditions for the type of benefits claimed ^{Footnote 1} .

Special benefits are subject to the maximums established by the EI Act ^{Footnote 2} .

The maximum number of combined weeks of regular fishing benefits and special benefits must not exceed 50, however, where regular benefits were not paid, fishers are entitled to receive special benefits to a maximum of 56, 65, 71 or 102 weeks depending on the types of special benefits combined in a benefit period ^{Footnote 3} .

The rules ^{Footnote 4} put in place pursuant to the implementation of the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan on January 1, 2006, also apply to fishing claims.

15.7.1 Special benefits for new entrants and re-entrants

Similar provisions to the one found in the EI Regulations which allow new entrants who have insufficient earnings to qualify for benefits but have sufficient earnings to qualify for special benefits, are also applicable to fishing benefits ^{Footnote 5} .

A fisher who is a new entrant or re-entrant to the labour force and who is claiming special benefits qualifies to receive the benefits if the person:

• is not qualified to receive regular benefits ^{Footnote 6} ; and
• is major attached, i.e., has at least $3760 of insurable earnings from fishing in the qualifying period ^{Footnote 7} .

When the above conditions are met, a benefit period is established and special benefits are payable according to the provisions of the EI Act and the EI Regulations ^{Footnote 8} .

The exception to this is when a fisher has accumulated a violation on a previous claim. Violations range from minor to subsequent with a related increase in the insurable earnings from fishing required to qualify for benefits ^{Footnote 9} .

A claimant is not entitled to be paid special benefits for a working day in respect of which the claimant fails to prove that on that day, the claimant was:

EI Fishing Regulations 12(4):

1. unable to work because of an illness, injury or quarantine and that the claimant would otherwise be available for work, or
2. entitled to maternity, parental, compassionate care or parents of critically ill children benefits ^{Footnote 10} .

However an amendment to this section of the Fishing Regulations introduced an exception for claimants who are in receipt of EI fishing parental benefits:

(4.1) A claimant to whom benefits are payable under subsection 23(1) of the Act and whose claim for benefits because of illness, injury or quarantine is made for a week that begins on or after the day on which this subsection comes into force is not disentitled under paragraph (4)(a) for failing to prove that they would have been available for work were it not for the illness, injury or quarantine.

Claimants in receipt of EI fishing parental benefits who wish to convert their parental benefits to sickness benefits, and who provide proof of incapacity, are exempt from proving that they are otherwise available for work.

Regular fishing benefits and additional special benefits are payable to a claimant who has received special benefits where:

1. the claimant has accumulated, since the beginning of the benefit period, insurable earnings from employment as a fisher that, when added to the insurable earnings in the qualifying period, equal or exceed
   1. in the case of a new-entrant or re-entrant, $5,500, and
   2. in any other case, the applicable amount of insurable earnings in employment as a fisher set out in the schedule, determined by reference to the week in which the benefit period ^{Footnote 11} and
2. regular fishing benefits or additional special benefits are payable in that fishing benefit period based on the insurable earnings in the claimant's qualifying period ^{Footnote 12} .