Employment Insurance (EI)

Decision

[1] The appeal is dismissed. The Claimant is not entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits from October 4, 2020, to October 10, 2020.

Overview

[2] The Claimant was receiving the EI emergency response benefit that was converted to regular EI benefits on September 27, 2020. On the same day, he left Canada to visit a parent in another country. His parent was ill. The Claimant returned to Canada on October 11, 2020. The Commission initially disentitled the Claimant from receiving EI benefits for the entire period because he was not available for work and he was outside of Canada. The Claimant requested reconsideration of that decision. The Commission changed its decision to remove the disentitlement for not being available for work. It also decided the Claimant could receive EI benefits for the first seven days he was absent from Canada. This meant the Claimant was disentitled from receiving benefits from October 4, 2020, to October 10, 2020. The Claimant disagrees with that decision saying that he had to leave Canada for two weeks due to the quarantine requirements in the other country where his parent lives.

Preliminary matter ~ the Claimant did not attend the hearing

[3] A hearing is allowed to go ahead without the Claimant if I am satisfied the Claimant received notice of the hearing.^{Footnote 1}

[4] I am satisfied the Claimant received the notice of hearing. The Claimant authorized the Tribunal to communicate with him by e-mail. His appeal to the Tribunal was acknowledged by email on November 4, 2020. On November 9, 2020, the reconsideration file (GD3) and the Commission’s representations (GD4) were emailed to the Claimant. The Notice of Hearing was emailed to the Claimant on November 9, 2020. There is no indication any of these emails were undeliverable. In addition, staff of the Tribunal contacted the Claimant on November 12, 202, to remind him of the hearing.

[5] On the day of the hearing, I established the video conference at the scheduled time. At 45 minutes past the time set for the hearing, the Claimant had not appeared and I disconnected from the teleconference. As of date of writing, the Claimant has not contacted the Social Security Tribunal to explain his absence.

Issue

[6] Was the Claimant entitled to benefits while he was outside of Canada?

Reasons for my decision

[7] A claimant is not entitled to receive EI benefits for any period while he is out of Canada.^{Footnote 2}

[8] There a number of exceptions to this rule. A claimant could receive EI benefits if the reason he is outside Canada is because: he or an immediate family member he is accompanying, are undergoing medical treatment that is not readily or immediately available in their area of residence in Canada; he is attending the funeral of an immediate family member; he is visiting an immediate family member who is gravely ill; he is attending a bona fide job interview; or, he is conducting a bona fide job search.^{Footnote 3}

[9] It is the responsibility of claimants to prove they meet the exceptions including the availability requirements prescribed in the Employment Insurance Act.^{Footnote 4}

[10] There are limits on the number of days of EI benefits a claimant can receive when they meet some of the exceptions. A claimant who is out of Canada to see an ill family member may receive EI benefits for seven days.  Seven more days may be received if the ill family member the claimant visited passes away. A claimant may receive seven days of EI benefits to attend a job interview or receive 14 days of EI benefits to conduct a job search.^{Footnote 5}

[11] For this purpose, a complete, whole day does not necessarily mean a calendar day. Rather, it can include a continuous 24-hour period that straddles two calendar days. The time, therefore, that a claimant is outside Canada for a fraction of a complete day, is not counted as a “period” outside of Canada.^{Footnote 6}

[12] Recent amendments to the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regulations to deal with COVID-19 do not change the rule or the exceptions. The amendments do not affect the disentitlement to EI benefits when a person is outside of Canada.

[13] The Claimant reported his absence from Canada in an online questionnaire.^{Footnote 7} He indicated that he left Canada at 6:55 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2020, and returned at 2:25 p.m. on October 11, 2020. The Claimant included an email to his employer with his appeal to the Tribunal. The email confirms the Claimant would be visiting his family in another country from September 17, 2020, to October 11, 2020. As a result, I find the Claimant was out of Canada from September 27, 2020, to October 11, 2020.

[14] The Claimant told the Commission that he went to the other country to visit a parent who was ill. Because the Claimant met this exception, the Commission allowed the Claimant seven days of EI benefits. The Claimant also explained to the Commission that he was keeping an eye out for work, he expected to return his former workplace in November, that he was able to return home within 24 to 48 hours is offered a job, and that he would be available for work. The Commission removed the disentitlement for not being available for work.^{Footnote 8}

[15] I recognize that the Claimant was required to quarantine in the other country for 14 days upon his arrival in that country. That requirement may have influenced the length of his trip. However, as noted above the changes to the law in Canada have not changed the rules that limit the payment of EI benefits when a claimant is outside of Canada. The Claimant told the Commission that he was outside of Canada to visit an ill parent. There is no evidence to contradict that. There is also no evidence that he meets any of the other exemptions that would extend his entitlement to EI benefits while outside of Canada, such as the death of a family member following an illness. The law limits the payment of EI benefits when a person is outside of Canada visiting an ill parent to seven days. The Claimant received EI benefits from September 27, 2020, to October 3, 2020, a period of seven days. The Claimant remained outside of Canada after October 3, 2020 and returned to Canada at 2:15 p.m. on October 11, 2020. As a result, I find that the Claimant is not entitled to EI benefits from October 4, 2020, to October 10, 2020.

[16] I am sympathetic to the Claimant’s circumstances. However, as tempting as it may be in such cases (and this may well be one), I am not permitted to re-write legislation or to interpret it in a manner that is contrary to its plain meaning.^{Footnote 9} I must follow the law and render decisions based on the relevant legislation and precedents set by the courts.

Conclusion

[17] The appeal is dismissed.