'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
The employment insurance system is set for another round of pandemic-related changes that come into force on Sunday. Here are a few of the key changes that will apply to new claims for benefits made beginning Sept. 26.
EI applicants need to have worked a minimum number of hours to qualify for benefits. In the past, that number has been about 600 hours, although the number varied in different parts of the country based on local labour market conditions.
Many workers have had their hours cut during the pandemic, meaning they may not have worked enough hours to qualify.
Over the last year, all new EI applicants received a one-time hours top-up to help them qualify, but that disappears on Sunday. In its place will be a uniform requirement to have worked 420 hours.
The uniform hours requirement will be in place for one year, until Sept. 24, 2022.
The government is also requiring anew a medical certificate proving an applicant is sick and can't work to receive EI sickness benefits. The requirement was waived temporarily over the last year because of COVID-19.
The weekly floor on benefits will decline to $300 from $500, in line with the value of payments under the Canada Recovery Benefit that is available for those who don't qualify for EI.
The weekly floor is planned to apply to claims made between Sept. 26 and Nov. 20.
The duration and value of benefits will once again be calculated using regional unemployment rates that were temporarily replaced over the last year by a uniform unemployment rate of 13.1 per cent.
EI officials will also use simplified rules around severance and vacation pay so claimants should be able to start receiving benefits sooner. The payments can delay the start and value of benefits.
However, there will once again be a one-week wait before benefits flow for any new EI claims after the waiting period was waived over the last year.
Anyone with an existing EI claim won't see any changes to the value or duration of their benefits with these new rules.
As well, seasonal workers in 13 regions will still be eligible for five extra weeks of EI regular benefits until October 2022.
The pilot project provides the extra weeks to seasonal workers who started a claim between Aug. 5, 2018 and this coming Oct. 30, provided they had three claims for regular or fishing benefits in the last five years, and at least two started around the same time of year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2021.
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
After a final frame that saw the visiting Vancouver Canucks claw their way back and tie the game late, a slap shot from the point by Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard with 38 seconds left (until what seemed like certain overtime) iced the 3-2 victory for Edmonton to knot the series.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.