Governor in Council selection processes open for the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal

News release

May 9, 2024              Gatineau, Quebec              Employment and Social Development Canada

Today, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages Randy Boissonnault announced that the Governor in Council has launched selection processes to identify a diverse group of qualified Canadians to join the new Employment Insurance Board of Appeal as Governor in Council appointees. Candidates have until June 20, 2024, to apply using the Governor in Council appointments website.

Once established, the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal will assume responsibility from the Social Security Tribunal for hearing and deciding first-level appeals under the Employment Insurance Act. Under the new Employment Insurance Board of Appeal, first-level Employment Insurance appeals will be considered by three-member panels composed of representatives of the government, workers and employers equally. These regionally-based and representative appeal panels will better reflect Canadian communities and ensure fair and timely decision-making.

Open, transparent and merit-based selection processes will be used to identify the government’s representatives and to fill the following positions: executive head, regional coordinators and part-time members. The Governor in Council appointments will be complemented by representatives selected by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, equally representing the employer and insured worker communities.

The creation of the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal and the return to the tripartite hearing model is a significant reform to the Employment Insurance recourse process and is the outcome of consultation with Canadians and key stakeholders across the country, including labour and employer groups.

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Quotes

“With the creation of the Employment Insurance (EI) Board of Appeal, Canadians will get fair and timely decisions for first-level EI appeals. Our Government listened, and today’s announcement shows that we are serious about working with organized labour and employers to modernize the EI system by returning to a regionally based and tripartite review board.”
– Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault

Quick facts

  • In 2019, the Government announced reforms to the Social Security Tribunal. One of these reforms included the creation of the Board of Appeal to replace the existing General Division at the Tribunal.

  • Since 2019, the Government of Canada has held consultations with key stakeholders across the country to shape the design of the EI Board of Appeal. The most recent consultations closed in 2022. (A What we heard report was published.)

  • Legislation that was introduced under the Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1 in March 2023, to enable the creation of the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal, received royal assent and became law on June 22, 2023.

Associated links

Contacts

For media enquiries, please contact:

Mathis Denis
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages
mathis.denis@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Media Relations Office 
Employment and Social Development Canada 
819-994-5559 
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca 
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