Bill C-56 · 40th Parliament · Stephen Harper
Fairness for the Self-Employed Act
An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedNov. 3, 2009
- Debated in principleNov. 5, 2009
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberDec. 10, 2009
- Passed the second chamberDec. 14, 2009
- Became lawDec. 15, 2009
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Stephen HarperPrime Minister
- Consiglio Di NinoSenate · Sponsor in the Senate
- Paul Szabostates bill in principle has support of the House
- Jim Malowaycompliments government on bill with all-party support
- Tim Uppalbacks the bill for allowing self-employed Canadians to collect EI special benefits for the first time.
- Ben LobbSpeaker defends the bill and criticizes opponents for voting against it.
- Ed KomarnickiSpeaker expresses clear approval and calls the bill a significant positive enhancement.
- Diane Finleyintroduces the bill and states it is the fair and right thing to do
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
What it set out to do
On 3 November 2009, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development introduced Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (Fairness for the Self-Employed Act), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-56 amends the Employment Insurance Act and other Acts to establish a scheme to provide for the payment of special benefits to self-employed persons who are not currently entitled to receive them, including • maternity benefits (15 weeks maximum, a claim can start up to 8 weeks before the expected birth date); • parental/adoptive benefits (35 weeks maximum); • sickness benefits (15 weeks maximum); and • compassionate care benefits (6 weeks maximum) Under the proposed legislation, self-employed Canadians would be required to opt into the program at least one year prior to claiming benefits. To access EI special benefits, self-employed individuals would need to have earned a minimum of $6,000 in self-employed earnings over the preceding calendar year. The self-employed could opt out of the EI program at the end of any tax year, as long as they have never claimed benefits. Self-employed Canadians …
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
How it changed on the way
81% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (20,315 words introduced, 15,992 passed). A committee amended it.
substantial changeintent mostly kept
The bill passed with its core scheme for self-employed special benefits unchanged in purpose and structure. Technical wording was refined in several sections on violations, claims, and regulations.
- Added reference to provincial plans in premium reduction rules.
After: “when the payment of any allowances, money or other benefits because of illness, injury, quarantine, pregnancy, child care or compassionate care under a provincial law to insured persons, or to self-employed persons, as the case may be, would have the effect of reducing or eliminating Provincial plans the special benefits payable to those insured persons or the benefits payable to those self- employed persons.”
How precisely it is written
mixedChallenging the law: ModerateDisputing a charge: Moderate
The text mixes fixed numbers, dates and defined terms with repeated references to regulations, Commission opinions and broad discretion. This leaves many coverage and penalty questions open to later argument rather than settling them on the face of the statute.
Open to argument
“if, in the opinion of the Commission, the person knowingly failed to declare the earnings”
Subjective test turns on the Commission's view rather than an objective standard.“The Commission may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, make regulations”
Open-ended power to define weeks of unemployment and other key matters.“any other matter that the Commission considers necessary”
Leaves the scope of rules to the regulator's judgment.
Clear-cut
“liable to a penalty of five per cent of the part of the amount of the premium”
Exact percentage and calculation method given.“a fine of not less than $25 a day for each day the offence continues, to a maximum of $1,000”
Numeric floor, ceiling and daily multiplier supplied.
Discretion. Extensive power is delegated to the Commission and Governor in Council to prescribe percentages, forms, qualifying circumstances and what counts as a week of unemployment.
Challenging the law itself. Vague phrases such as 'in the opinion of the Commission' and open regulation-making clauses could support a vagueness or overbreadth argument under Charter s. 7.
Disputing a charge under it. While penalties and some time limits are numeric, the many cross-references to regulations and Commission discretion make it possible to dispute whether a breach has occurred.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
partly effective
The 2016 ESDC evaluation found the program delivered special EI benefits to self-employed opt-ins but achieved only ~4% of projected uptake due to low awareness, eligibility barriers, and business constraints. No other official reviews, audits, or studies were identified assessing long-term impacts or effectiveness.
- Evaluation of the Employment Insurance Special Benefits for Self-employed WorkersevaluationBy May 2013, only ~13,000 self-employed had registered (~4% of the 318,900 projected by end of 2012), with ~1,800 paid claims mostly for maternity/parental benefits and significant disincentives noted including earnings thresholds and inability to leave businesses.
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.