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SEASONAL WORKERS ELIGIBLE FOR 5 EXTRA WEEKS OF EI

August 16, 2023

To better support seasonal workers, the Government of Canada will continue to provide up to 5 additional weeks of Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits to eligible seasonal workers in the Newfoundland and Labrador economic region outside St. John’s Metro.

If you’re a seasonal worker from this economic region and you start an EI claim from September 26, 2021 to October 28, 2023, you may be eligible for up to 5 additional weeks of regular benefits if one of the 2 following situations applies to you:

  1. at the time your claim starts, you meet the seasonal worker criteria:
    • in the previous 5 years, you had at least 3 EI claims for which you received regular or fishing benefits, and
    • at least 2 of those EI claims started around the same time of year as your current claim

    Or

  2. at the time your claim starts, you don’t meet the seasonal worker criteria, but you did meet these criteria on an EI claim that started between August 5, 2018 and September 25, 2021

If you qualify, you may apply by clicking here. 

For questions, call Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218.

CONTINUE TO CALL YOUR FEDERAL MP AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THE EI SYSTEM IS BROKEN AND SEASONAL WORKERS MUST BE PROTECTED. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

FISHING EI REFERENCE SHEET

HOURS-BASED EI REFERENCE SHEET 

Dr. Erin Carruthers

Dr. Erin Carruthers is the Science Director and Senior Fisheries Scientist with the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor), which is the labour union that represents the owner-operator fleet in Newfoundland and Labrador. The FFAW is committed to research and management that supports healthy oceans, fisheries, and coastal communities. Dr. Carruthers received her Ph. D. in Biology from Memorial University in 2011 followed by a postdoctoral fellowship with the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research. Before coming to Newfoundland, Erin worked as a Research Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the St. Andrews Biological Station. Her current research program is co-constructed with fish harvesters and includes research on coastal fishing communities, collaborative longline and trap surveys, and best practices for the avoidance, handling and release of unwanted catch.