Additional employment insurance for seasonal workers

The Government of Canada is currently implementing a pilot project to provide up to five additional weeks of employment insurance benefits to seasonal workers. The new measure aims to counter the “black hole” of employment insurance by reducing the number of unemployed workers without a safety net. This is good news for the region because seasonal workers from many local municipalities are eligible for these additional benefits.

The announcement was made by Compton-stanstead MP Marie-claude Bibeau, in a press release Monday.

The additional five weeks of benefits are available to eligible seasonal industry workers who start a benefit period before May 30, 2020. In addition, an Employment Insurance claimant will be considered as an eligible seasonal worker if he/she meets the following two criteria:

•has submitted at least three applications for which he/she has received regular benefits in the previous five years

•at least two of those requests started at about the same time of the year.

To validate one’s eligibility for these benefits or to obtain additional information, contact the Employment Insurance Call Center toll-free at 1-800-808-6352. The hours of operation are from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday.

To view the eligibility map, visit http://srv129.services.gc.ca/eiregions/eng /que.aspx, Section 17 - Central Quebec, sector 2 to see the list of eligible municipalities.