The Impact of Bill C-12 on New Entrants and Re-Entrants

This report examines the impact on Employment Insurance (EI) eligibility of the increase in the entrance requirement for new entrants and re-entrants, under Bill C-12, from 20 to 26 weeks (or equivalent 910 hours). The results of the analysis suggest that: a) On average, about 36,500 new entrants/re-entrants were affected negatively each month in 1997 — i.e. did not qualify for EI, but would have qualified under the old rules. b) An additional 9,100 new entrants/re-entrants could have also been affected negatively each month, but were able to work additional hours to meet the higher entrance requirement. c) As a result, the average monthly number of regular beneficiaries in 1997 was reduced by about 5.8 percent (from a potential 633,200 to 596,700); correspondingly, total regular benefit payments in the entire 1997 were lower by about $520 million. d) The new rules for new entrants/re-entrants had a greater negative effect on claimants with monthly family incomes under $2,000, and those who received social assistance since the loss of their job. The above results are based on an ex ante analysis of the Canadian Out of Employment Panel (COEP) survey. The cohort analyzed consists of those individuals who terminated a job in the last quarter of 1995. To reconstruct work and claim histories, the COEP data were supplemented by the respondents’ Records of Employment and EI Status Vectors.