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Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

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Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board

The Government of Canada is improving the governance and management of Employment Insurance (EI) financing through the establishment the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board (CEIFB).

The CEIFB is a Crown corporation established by the CEIFB Act. It reports to Parliament through the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

Pursuant to the CEIFB Act and amendments to the Employment Insurance Act, the CEIFB is responsible for:

  • implementing an improved EI premium rate-setting mechanism that will ensure that EI revenues and expenditures break even over time;
  • managing a separate bank account, where any excess EI revenues from a given year will be held and invested until they are used to reduce premium rates in subsequent years; and
  • maintaining a $2 billion cash reserve as a contingency fund in order to support relative premium rate stability within legislated parameters.

The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada will continue to be responsible for EI benefits, with Service Canada ensuring the program remains responsive to the needs of Canadians and is delivered efficiently and effectively.

Members of the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board

The CEIFB is managed by a representative board of seven directors, including a chairperson, with the necessary skills and expertise to effectively carry out the organization’s mandate. A list of candidates for appointment to the Board is identified by a nominating committee made up of the EI Commissioner for Employers, the EI Commissioner for Workers and a chairperson appointed by the Minister of HRSDC.

Board members were appointed from this list to part-time positions on the recommendation of the Minister through the Governor in Council process. As of fall 2009, all seven members of the Board of directors had been appointed.

For more information on the board members, please refer to the following news releases:

Employment Insurance premium rate-setting

On September 30, 2010, the Government of Canada announced that it will temporarily reduce the amount by which the EI premium rate can be increased to 5 cents per $100 of insurable earnings for 2011 and 10 cents for subsequent years. This measure will help save jobs and ensure that the economic recovery continues.

Transactions related to EI will be recorded in the new EI Operating Account. Once a year, any difference between the amount of premiums collected and the amount of benefits paid will be reconciled. In circumstances where EI revenues and expenditures in the EI Operating Account are not equal, an annual payment is to be made either to or by the Board, to ensure that the balance of the EI Operating Account is maintained at zero. These differences between premiums collected and benefits paid will be taken into account in subsequent EI premium rate-setting exercises.

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission

With the CEIFB taking on the responsibility for EI premium rate-setting, the EI Commission will retain its other responsibilities for supporting the EI appeal system, making regulations with the approval of the Governor in Council and reviewing and approving policies related to EI program administration and delivery.

The EI Commission has also been given an ongoing mandate to continue the EI Monitoring and Assessment report as a permanent annual report.

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Date Modified:
2011-10-12