Bill C-249 Employment Insurance Act Benefits
C-249 An Act to Amend the Employment Insurance Act (Combined Weeks of Benefits Rule and Certain Benefits)
Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill
Bill Sponsor: Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie)
Outside the Order of Precedence — introduced October 21, 2025, but not yet scheduled for debate.
Status: Introduced — October 21, 2025. This Bill hasn't passed yet.
How would YOU vote? Scroll down to vote and comment below.
This is a substantive Private Members Bill — actual Legislative Amendments, not a conference or a report.
WHO GAINS POWER
- Claimants receiving pregnancy or parental benefits gain exemption from the combined weeks cap — their benefits no longer count against the 50-week ceiling
- Claimants caring for a critically ill adult gain 11 additional weeks of benefits (15 → 26)
- Self-employed persons caring for a critically ill adult receive the same increase
WHO LOSES POWER
- No existing power is removed from government
- The Employment Insurance Commission loses some flexibility in applying the combined weeks rule to pregnancy and parental claimants
WHO GAINS MONEY
- New parents who also received regular EI benefits — they can now access their full pregnancy and parental entitlement without it being clawed back by the combined weeks rule
- Canadians caring for a critically ill adult — up to 11 additional weeks of benefits
- Self-employed caregivers — same gain
WHO LOSES MONEY
- The EI fund — no cost estimate provided in the Bill
- Federal taxpayers who fund EI shortfalls — no fiscal impact disclosed
THE CATCH
- ⚠️ No cost estimate provided — expanding benefit eligibility and increasing maximum weeks has a direct cost to the EI fund. The Bill provides no fiscal analysis
- ⚠️ Private Members Bill introducing EI amendments — changes to the Employment Insurance Act with significant fiscal implications are typically introduced as government Legislation with Treasury Board costing. This Bill bypasses that process
- ⚠️ Schedule IV repealed without explanation — the Bill repeals an entire Schedule to the Act. The plain language impact of that repeal is not explained in the summary
- ⚠️ "Critically ill adult" definition not in this Bill — the definition relies on existing section 23.3(1). Readers cannot assess eligibility from this Bill alone