The federal government has recently introduced a series of special Measures affecting Employment Insurance (EI). The changes are meant to both prevent unemployment and to improve EI access and benefit duration for some workers.
Please review the attached fact sheets on both of these special measures. To see additional details for any current special measures, please visit the Employment and Social Development Canada webpage ‘Special measures‘.
In response to U.S. tariffs, and the threat they pose to Canadian jobs, the Federal Government announced temporary special measures to the Work-Sharing Program that will be in place from March 7, 2025, to March 6, 2026.
These special measures expand employer and employee eligibility, allowing more workplaces and workers classifications to us the program.
Work-Sharing is a federal program funded by Employment Insurance (EI) that assists employers and workers to avoid temporary layoffs when there is an unusual slowdown in production or service.
Pilot Project 24 Special Measures
Pilot Project 24 implements changes to the EI eligibility to temporarily improve access and benefits.
The one-week waiting period and separation rules are suspended for a period of 6 months starting on March 30, 2025.
Additional changes to the regional unemployment rates will also improve access and benefit duration for some workers for a period of 3 months starting on April 6, 2025.
These special measures will make a big difference for some workers, but more is needed to keep Unifor members working and to fix Canada’s EI system.
In the current federal election, Unifor has called for additional EI fixes now to mitigate the effects of tariffs, but also permanent, long-term improvements to both EI and labour adjustment supports for workers in these times of transition.
EI is the most important economic stabilizer for workers in times of job loss, training, or transition. Unifor will keep pushing for improvements to EI both during and beyond the federal election.
In solidarity,
Lana Payne
Unifor National President