Question Period Note: IMPROVEMENTS TO THE APPEAL PROCESS FOR EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

What is the government doing to implement the Employment Insurance (EI) Board of Appeal?

• The Government is committed to reforming the appeal process for the Employment Insurance program by making it more responsive to the needs of Canadians, including a return to a locally-based tripartite decision-making model for first-level Employment Insurance appeals, outside of the Social Security Tribunal.

• Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023, and enabled the creation of the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal, a new independent tripartite board to hear first level Employment Insurance appeals.

• The Department is advancing key activities to ensure the successful implementation of the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal in anticipation of a 2025 launch date. This includes the recently-launched Canada Employment Insurance Commission and Governor-in-Council selection processes for Board of Appeal members.

• To ensure seamless operations following the launch of the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal, the Social Security Tribunal will run in parallel and continue to hear first-level Employment Insurance appeals during a transition period.

In August 2019, the Government announced significant changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) and Income Security (IS) recourse processes. These changes included client-centric improvements within the Social Security Tribunal (SST) and a return to a locally-based tripartite decision-making model for first-level EI appeals (called EI Board of Appeal) outside of the SST.

Over summer 2022, consultations were held to review issues previously raised by stakeholders and parliamentarians, to examine possible solutions and to identify any remaining concerns relating to the proposed legislation. In parallel, consultation in the form of an online survey, open to the public, was also conducted to review certain aspects of the EI appeal process.

In Budget 2023, following consultations with Canadians and stakeholders, the Government proposed to introduce amendments to the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (and consequential amendments to other Acts) to establish a new independent tripartite Board of Appeal. The Budget Implementation Act, which received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023, establishes the Board of Appeal and the legislation stipulates that the tribunal will begin to receive EI appeals at a date to be set by Order in Council. On that date, both the Board of Appeal and the SST – General Division, will operate in parallel until a date set by a second Order in Council dissolves the EI Section of the SST – General Division.

As a tripartite organization, the new EI Board of Appeal will represent the interests of government, workers and employers, helping put first-level EI appeal decisions back into the hands of those who pay into the EI system. The EI Board of Appeal will hear first level EI appeals. Until the EI Board of Appeal is operational, the SST will continue to hear first- level EI appeals. To ensure seamless operations following the launch of the EI Board of Appeal, there will be a transition period during which the new Board of Appeal and the SST will run in parallel.

The Department of Employment and Social Development Act prescribes in subsections 43.02 and 43.03(1)(a) that the BOA positions for the executive head, the regional coordinators and the presiding members are to be appointed by the Governor-in-Council, whereas subsection 43.03(1)(b) and (c) assigns the responsibility for appointing members representing the workers and employers communities to the Canada Employment Insurance Commission. The selection processes for members to be appointed by Governor-in=-Council and for the members to be appointed by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission were launched in May 2024 and in August 2024 respectively, in order to appoint and train the regionally-dispersed members for the Board of Appeal launch.

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