Under certain conditions, you may receive fishing benefits and maternity, parental, sickness and/or family caregiver benefits during the same claim period. In this case, the benefit period would be extended to a maximum of 52 weeks, and you could receive up to 50 weeks of benefits.

The only exception is when EI fishing benefits and extended parental benefits are paid. As extended parental benefits are paid at a benefit rate of 33% of your weekly insurable earnings, up to a maximum amount, once 50 weeks of benefits have been paid, the weeks of extended parental benefits will be converted to an equivalent number of weeks that would have been paid at the 55% benefit rate. This conversion will determine how many more weeks of fishing benefits and special benefits can be paid to reach the equivalent of 50 weeks paid at the 55% benefits rate. Any weeks where you return to work during this period will be considered weeks paid for the purposes of calculating the equivalent of 50 weeks paid at the 55% benefit rate. Once the number of additional weeks that can be paid is determined, the benefit period will be extended to allow for the additional weeks to be paid.

It is important to note that if you haven’t been paid any fishing or regular benefits during your benefit period, you may be able to receive up to 102 weeks of maternity, parental, sickness and/or family caregiver benefits in the same benefit period.

To find out whether you’re eligible to receive other types of EI benefits in the same benefit period, please call our EI Telephone Information Service at 1-800-206-7218 (TTY: 1-800-529-3742) between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. You can also write to us or go in person to your Service Canada Centre.

Usually, you can’t receive EI benefits while outside Canada. One measure we take to enforce this rule is to compare EI information with information from the Canada Border Services Agency. If we find you’ve been out of the country while collecting fishing benefits, we’ll try to determine whether you’re entitled to those benefits. If not, we’ll calculate your overpayment, which you’ll then have to repay.

We may also impose penalties of up to 3 times your weekly benefit rate or 3 times the amount of your overpayment. As well, you may have to earn more to qualify for fishing benefits in the future.

When you file your income tax return, you may be required to repay some of the EI benefits you received. This will depend on your net income and whether you were paid EI regular non-fishing or regular fishing benefits during the tax year.

For more information, visit the EI and overpayments page or call our EI Telephone Information Service at 1-800-206-7218 (TTY: 1-800-529-3742). You can also write to us or visit us in person at a Service Canada Centre.

We work to protect the EI program from misuse. One of the ways we do this is by working with employers and claimants to ensure the accuracy of the information we receive. With your help, we can reduce the amount of misuse and ensure that the EI program is used as it should be—as a program that provides temporary financial assistance to individuals who qualify.

A mistake is an unintentional act. We know claimants can make mistakes when filing their reports. Common mistakes include:

• estimating weekly earnings instead of putting in the actual amount earned
• forgetting to declare all the earnings received
• writing or entering the wrong number when reporting earnings, or
• adding the number of hours or amount of earnings incorrectly

Some mistakes can delay benefit payments, while others can affect the amount of benefits you receive—meaning you were paid more or less than you were entitled to receive.

For example, estimating your earnings can have the following effects:

• If you estimated your earnings for 1 week and your estimate was higher than the earnings you actually received, your benefit amount will be less than it should have been. If this happens, let us know and we'll adjust your file to make sure you receive all the benefits to which you are entitled
• If you estimated your earnings for 1 week and your estimate was lower than the earnings you actually received, your benefit amount will be higher than it should have been. Let us know if this happens. You’ll have to repay the excess amount, but we’ll ensure that repaying it causes no undue hardship. As well, we’ll adjust your file to reflect your accurate information

If you notice a mistake on a completed form or report, or if there is a change in your circumstances that could affect your EI claim, tell Service Canada immediately. This will help prevent any future problems with your claim.

If you knowingly withhold information, make misleading statements, or misrepresent the facts to make a false claim for benefits, this is considered misrepresentation. You could face severe monetary penalties or prosecution. This could also affect your future benefits. However, if you disclose your actions to Service Canada before an investigation begins, we may waive any monetary penalties and prosecutions that might otherwise apply.

Claimants who misuse the EI program and were assessed a violation may need more insurable earnings or hours to qualify for benefits in the future. The required amount rises based on the number and seriousness of misrepresentations that have been recorded in the 5-year period before the start of their claims.

The EI program guarantees certain rights. There are also some basic responsibilities, for both you and Service Canada.

When you apply for EI benefits, you must:

• be capable of and available for work and unable to obtain suitable employment
• actively search for and accept offers of suitable employment
• conduct job search activities that increase your opportunities to find suitable employment, such as:
  • assessing employment opportunities
  • preparing a résumé or cover letter
  • registering for job search tools or with electronic job banks or employment agencies
  • attending job search workshops or job fairs
  • networking
  • contacting prospective employers
  • submitting job applications
  • attending interviews
  • undergoing evaluations of competencies
• keep a detailed record as proof of your job search efforts to find suitable employment as we may ask you to provide that proof at any time. Therefore you must keep your job search record for 6 years
• let us know when you refuse any offers of employment
• report all periods when you’re not available for work
• keep your appointments with our office
• notify us of any separation from employment and the reasons for the separation
• report all periods of incapacity
• obtain a medical certificate that confirms the duration of your incapacity
• provide all other required information and documents
• report any absences from your area of residence and/or any absence from Canada
• report all employment, whether you work for someone else or for yourself
• accurately report all employment earnings before deductions, in the week(s) in which they were earned, as well as any other monies you may receive

At Service Canada, we're responsible for:

• giving you prompt and courteous service
• advising you of the programs and services that are available to you
• serving you in the official language of your choice
• determining if you’re eligible to receive benefits (that is, whether or not you meet the qualifying conditions specified in the Employment Insurance Act and Regulations) and determining how many weeks of benefits you can receive
• processing all claims within the same timeframe
• issuing your first payment no later than 28 days after the date we receive your application, if you’ve provided us with all the required information and if you’re eligible for benefits
• giving you accurate information about your claim, including how you can share parental benefits with your EI -eligible spouse or partner and caregiver benefits with other EI -eligible family members, and whether or not you’ll need to serve a 1-week waiting period
• letting you know about decisions we've made about your claim and explaining the process to follow if you disagree with a decision

For more information on rights and responsibilities, see the publication called Employment Insurance – Rights and Responsibilities.