Skip to main content
Back to Bills
FederalDid not become law (session ended)43rd Parliament, 1st Session

Bill C-217 explained in plain English

An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (illness, injury or quarantine)

Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Federal Parliament
Legislature / Parliament
Parliament of Canada
Session
43rd Parliament, 1st Session
Bill number
Bill C-217
Full title
An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (illness, injury or quarantine)
Current status
Did not become law (session ended)
Latest event
Outside the Order of Precedence
Last updated
Feb 27, 2020

Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.

Chamber
Parliament of Canada
Current Stage
Outside the Order of Precedence
Latest Activity
Feb 27, 2020
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

Bill C-217 increases the maximum employment insurance benefits period for illness, injury, or quarantine from 15 weeks to 50 weeks.

What It Means

Bill C-217 proposes to change the Employment Insurance Act to increase the maximum number of weeks that employment insurance benefits can be paid to workers who are unable to work due to illness, injury, or quarantine. Currently, the limit is 15 weeks. This bill would raise that limit to 50 weeks. The bill makes changes to two sections of the Employment Insurance Act (sections 12(3)(c) and 152.14(1)(c)) to apply this new 50-week limit. The bill does not specify which illnesses, injuries, or quarantine situations would qualify—those details would be set out in regulations made under the Act.

What This Bill Does
  • Increases from 15 to 50 weeks the maximum period for which employment insurance benefits may be paid to workers unable to work because of illness, injury, or quarantine
  • Amends paragraph 12(3)(c) of the Employment Insurance Act to change the maximum week limit from 15 to 50 weeks for prescribed illness, injury, or quarantine
  • Amends paragraph 152.14(1)(c) of the Employment Insurance Act to change the maximum week limit from 15 to 50 weeks for prescribed illness, injury, or quarantine
Who Is Affected
  • Workers in Canada who are employed and insured under the employment insurance system
  • Workers who need to take time off work due to illness, injury, or quarantine situations
  • Employers and the employment insurance fund that pays these benefits
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • Eligible workers would have the right to receive employment insurance benefits for up to 50 weeks (instead of the current 15 weeks) if they cannot work due to prescribed illness, injury, or quarantine
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The bill does not specify which illnesses, injuries, or quarantine situations would qualify—this is left to regulations that would be made under the Employment Insurance Act
  • The bill does not state when it would come into force
  • The bill does not provide details about how this change would affect employment insurance premiums or costs to the program
  • The bill does not clarify whether the increase applies to all workers or certain categories of workers
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Employment Insurance Act
amends

Increases the maximum number of weeks that employment insurance benefits may be paid for illness, injury, or quarantine situations from 15 weeks to 50 weeks

Source: Paragraph 12(3)(c) and paragraph 152.14(1)(c)

Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.

Official text

Parliamentary Process

Step 1
First reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

Bill C-217 reached First Reading in the Senate but was subsequently dropped from the Order Paper without further proceeding.

Step 2
Second reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

Bill C-217, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act for illness, injury, or quarantine benefits, was not proceeded with in the Senate and was removed from the Order Paper.

Step 3
Third reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

The Senate stage of Third Reading for Bill C-217 was not reached as the bill was removed from the Order Paper.

Step 1
First reading
Feb 24, 2020
Completed

Bill C-217, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act for illness, injury, or quarantine, was introduced in the House of Commons but later dropped from the Order Paper without proceeding further.

Introduction and first reading, Feb 24, 2020
End of stage activity, Feb 24, 2020
Chamber sittings
Introduction and first reading - Feb 24, 2020

On February 24, 2020, in the House of Commons, Bill C-217 received first reading, with significant debate occurring around proposed changes to the citizenship oath concerning Indigenous rights, reflecting discussions on reconciliation efforts.

Step 2
Second reading
Date not listed
Not reached

Bill C-217, concerning amendments to the Employment Insurance Act for illness, injury, or quarantine, was removed from the House of Commons Order Paper before its scheduled Second Reading.

Step 3
Consideration in committee
Not reached yet
Not reached

Bill C-217, concerning amendments to the Employment Insurance Act for illness, injury, or quarantine benefits, was removed from the parliamentary agenda after its second reading in the House of Commons and was not further debated.

Step 4
Report stage
Not reached yet
Not reached

Bill C-217, concerning Employment Insurance Act amendments for illness, injury, or quarantine benefits, was not proceeded with at the House of Commons Report stage and was dropped from the Order Paper after second reading.

Step 5
Third reading
Not reached yet
Not reached

Bill C-217, aiming to amend the Employment Insurance Act, was not proceeded with at the Third Reading stage in the House of Commons and was removed from the Order Paper.

Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.

Sponsor
Claude DeBellefeuille
Bloc Québécois | Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon
Jurisdiction
Federal Parliament

No published representative vote breakdown

This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.

Official sources

Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.

How this data is sourced