New tool reduces stress, eliminates need to wait in line or on hold, says government
Ottawa is making it easier for Canadians to calculate how much they can get from their Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.
The federal government has launched the EI Benefits Estimator to support workers when they need income support during a major life event or through the loss of a job by no fault of their own.
“We are putting clients at the core of how services are designed and delivered and that includes improving the services already in place. This new online EI Benefits Estimator tool is designed to help Canadians get the information they need about benefits,” said Terry Beech, minister of citizens’ services.
“Canadians expect to have accessible and reliable information at their fingertips, particularly during major life events. The EI Benefits Estimator provides that assistance, reducing stress and eliminating the need to wait in line or on hold. With continuous improvements to client experience we will continue to roll out more useful tools to help Canadians access services.”
The EI Benefits Estimator helps workers get greater clarity on the benefits that they could be eligible to receive, said the government.
“By answering a few questions anonymously, workers can quickly and efficiently obtain an estimate of benefits and the duration for which they could receive them, based on their actual or potential situation,” it noted.
The average call wait times were reduced from an average of 18 minutes in 2022-2023 to 4 minutes in 2023-2024, according to the government.
The EI Benefits Estimator covers all EI Benefits for employees, the self-employed and fishers including Regular benefits, Family Caregiver benefits, Compassionate Care benefits, Sickness benefits, as well as Parental and Maternity benefits.
The total amount paid for all types of EI benefits combined was $19.7 billion in 2022-23.
In 2023-2024, over 3.13 million EI applications were processed, representing over 200,000 more applications than the previous year. For 2023-2024, 86,4% of EI payments or notifications of non-payment were made within 28 days. On average, claimants received their first EI payment within 18 days.
As of July 2024, there were 488,510 Canadians receiving EI benefits, according to Statistics Canada.
“In July, the number of Canadians receiving regular EI benefits totalled 489,000, up 2.2% (+11,000) from a month earlier,” said StatCan. “This was the third consecutive monthly increase. Prior to these increases, the number of regular EI beneficiaries had held relatively steady since September 2023.”
In February, Canadian labour groups came together to demand changes in Canada’s EI, claiming that things as they are show signs of systemic discrimination against women.
Take-home income decreased across Canada due to Canada Pension Plan and federal EI changes.
