Backgrounder: Canada Employment Insurance Commission

Canada Employment Insurance Commission

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC) is a tripartite organization, representing the interests of workers, employers and government. The Commissioner for Workers and the Commissioner for Employers are appointed by the Governor in Council for terms of up to five years. They are mandated to represent and reflect the views of their respective constituencies.

The CEIC plays a key role in overseeing the Employment Insurance (EI) program and is mandated with annually monitoring and assessing the EI program. The Commission is also responsible for ensuring financial transparency and rate setting for EI. Specifically, the CEIC:

• commissions an annual report on the EI premium rate from the Senior Actuary and prepares a summary of that report;
• delivers both reports to the ministers of Employment and Social Development (Minister Duclos) and Finance;
• sets the annual EI premium rate; and
• sets the annual maximum insurable earnings and premium reductions according to the legislative requirement.