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Social welfare law — Employment insurance — Entitlement to regular and sickness benefits — Whether the applicant was entitled to regular and sickness benefits under the Employment Insurance Act, S.C. 1996, c. 23.

After undergoing surgery, Mr. Ayai applied for sickness and regular benefits under the Employment Insurance Act, for the time between March 2011 and his return to work in August 2012.

The Employment Insurance Commission refused Mr. Ayai’s claims. It noted that Mr. Ayai’s physician had already confirmed that Mr. Ayai was able to work light duties during that period. In the Commission’s view, Mr. Ayai did not show that he had looked for suitable employment while he was not working for his employer. Mr. Ayai challenged the Commission’s decision before The Board of Referees, which found that the evidence did not demonstrate that Mr. Ayai was unable to work due to his illness or injury.

On appeal before an umpire, Mr. Ayai challenged the refusal of both the sickness and regular benefits. The umpire dismissed the appeal because Mr. Ayai had not produced a medical certificate confirming that he was unable to work. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the application for judicial review. In its view, the umpire’s conclusion that Mr. Ayai did not provide the evidence necessary to establish his entitlement to sickness benefits was reasonable. Furthermore, while the umpire committed a reviewable error in failing to deal with the issue of regular benefits, it would not be in the interests of justice to return the application to him, because the evidence showed that it would have been refused in any event.