Tuesday, November 3, 2009

'Special' EI benefits for self-employed to begin in 2011

Small business owners, read this good news!

The federal government has introduced legislation to extend some Employment Insurance benefits to the self-employed, human resources and skills development minister Diane Finley said Tuesday morning.

At a press conference in Toronto, Finley said the Conservatives are introducing the Fairness for the Self-Employed Act, which would extend Employment Insurance "special benefits, including maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits, to the self-employed."

That means everyone from small business owners to farmers can now access maternity leave, parental and adoptive benefits, and sickness and compassionate care benefits for the first time, though they will not get EI's regular weekly income replacement should they become unemployed.

Opting in would be voluntary, Finley said, and the government expects the program to be largely self-financing, though she was unable to give numbers or predictions based on expected demand.

Canadians could start paying premiums as early as January, at rates essentially frozen at 2009 levels. However, claims wouldn't be able to be paid out until January 2011, well into the recovery and after what many expect to be a record dip in unemployment in2010.

The act follows up on previous Conservative promises to protect the self-employed from the devastation of the current recession.

"About 2.6 million Canadians are self-employed," Finley said in a release. "The self-employed have had little or no income protection to cope with major life events, such as giving birth, caring for a newborn or newly adopted child, being sick or injured, or caring for a gravely ill family member."

The new legislation, if passed, would provide maternity benefits (up to 15 weeks), parental and adoptive benefits (up to 35 weeks), sickness benefits (up to 15 weeks), and compassionate care benefits (up to 6 weeks). These are the same benefits available to working Canadians.

"Farmers will be happy to hear this," said Richard Phillips, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada, who was present, noting that farmers and their spouses are considered self-employed