Unemployment Assistance Act (R.S.C. 1970, c. U-1)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Unemployment Assistance Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act

agreement

agreement means an agreement made under section 3; (accord)

contributions

contributions means contributions by Canada pursuant to an agreement; (contributions)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Employment and Social Development; (Ministre)

unemployment assistance costs

unemployment assistance costs means the aggregate of the cost to the province, and the cost to municipalities in the province, of providing financial assistance to persons who are in need. (frais d’assistance-chômage)

Agreements with Provinces

Marginal note:Agreements for contributions

• 3 (1) Subject to this Act, the Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into an agreement with any province to provide for the payment by Canada to the province of contributions in respect of unemployment assistance costs in the province.

• Marginal note:Maximum amount

  (2) The contributions to a province shall not exceed fifty per cent of the unemployment assistance costs in the province in respect of which Canada has, under the agreement with the province, undertaken to contribute.

• Marginal note:Form of agreements

  (3) Subject to sections 4 and 5, an agreement entered into under this Act shall be susbstantially in the form set out in the schedule.

Marginal note:Contents of agreement

• 4 (1) An agreement shall

  • (a) include provisions for defining, calculating and determining unemployment assistance costs in respect of which contributions may be made;

  • (b) provide for the time, manner and form of making claims or applications for contributions, and for the conditions of payment;

  • (c) provide for the carrying out by the province or by municipalities or other agencies in the province of any arrangements for administering assistance to persons who are in need, and for supplying to Canada all necessary information and documents with respect thereto;

  • (d) provide for the determination of differences arising under the agreement; and

  • (e) fix the time of the agreement at not more than five years and thereafter until terminated by either party giving to the other party one year’s notice in writing.

• Marginal note:Determination of unemployment assistance costs

  (2) Except as provided in subsection (3), an agreement shall, for the purposes of this Act, exclude from unemployment assistance costs

  • (a) payments made to or on behalf of persons who are inmates of any institution or class of institution maintained in whole or in part out of funds provided by Canada, a province, a municipality or a charitable organization;

  • (b) payments made to or on behalf of persons who are in receipt of financial assistance under any Act of the legislature of a province the cost of which is shared by Canada under an Act of the Parliament of Canada other than this Act, and payments made by way of supplemental allowance or cost-of-living bonus to those persons or to persons who are in receipt of financial assistance under any Act of the Parliament of Canada;

  • (c) payments made to persons by way of mothers’ allowance;

  • (d) payments made in respect of medical, hospital, nursing, dental and optical care, drugs and dressings, funeral expenses and travelling expenses; and

  • (e) the costs of administration of any legislation or arrangements for providing assistance to persons who are in need.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) An agreement may include as unemployment assistance costs

  • (a) payments made to or on behalf of persons who are inmates of homes for special care and who would not normally be cared for in general, acute, chronic or convalescent hospitals, tuberculosis sanatoria, mental institutions, institutions for incurables, orphanages or child welfare institutions;

  • (b) relief payments made to or on behalf of the persons referred to in paragraph (2)(b), in addition to the payments therein specified; and

  • (c) travelling costs incurred for the benefit of persons to whom assistance is provided or their dependants.

• Marginal note:Homes for special care

  (4) In this section, the expression homes for special care means nursing homes, hostels for indigent transients, homes for the aged, poor houses, alms houses, and hostel facilities provided for the aged within housing projects constructed under the National Housing Act.

Marginal note:Effective date of agreements

5 An agreement may provide for contributions in respect of unemployment assistance costs that were incurred within a period of one year prior to the execution thereof.

Payments

Marginal note:Payments out of C.R.F.

6 Contributions shall be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund upon the certificate of the Minister of Employment and Social Development; but all payments of contributions are subject to the conditions specified in the agreement and to the observance by the province of the provisions thereof.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

7 The Governor in Council may make regulations for the administration of this Act and of agreements and for carrying their purposes and provisions into effect.

Report to Parliament

Marginal note:Report to Parliament

8 As soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year the Minister shall lay before Parliament a report of all proceedings under this Act for that fiscal year.