De Lamirande v. Canada (Attorney General)
The court upheld the Umpire: entitlement to EI benefits requires job‑seeking and cannot be satisfied by merely remaining available on call while on a vacation chosen by the worker; application for judicial review dismissed.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2004 FCA 311
- Parties
- Applicant: Pierre De Lamirande; Respondent: Attorney General of Canada
- Court
- Federal Court of Appeal
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 21 September 2004
- Procedural Posture
- Judicial Review (federal Court of Appeal) / Judgment Delivered (appeal)
- Outcome
- Application for judicial review dismissed with costs.
- Legal Topics
- Availability to Work, Vacation and Entitlement to Benefits, Job‑seeking Requirement, Purpose of Employment Insurance
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Pierre De Lamirande
Applicant
Attorney General of Canada
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review (federal Court of Appeal) / Judgment Delivered (appeal)
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether a claimant on vacation who remains available on call is entitled to Employment Insurance benefits
- 2 Whether a claimant must actively seek employment rather than merely wait to be called in
- 3 Whether vacations taken at dates of the claimant's choice defeat entitlement to benefits
Ratio Decidendi
The court upheld the Umpire: entitlement to EI benefits requires job‑seeking and cannot be satisfied by merely remaining available on call while on a vacation chosen by the worker; application for judicial review dismissed.
Court Disposition
Application for judicial review dismissed with costs.
Orders
- Application for judicial review dismissed with costs.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
De Lamirande v. Canada (Attorney General) Court (s) Database Federal Court of Appeal Decisions Date 2004-09-21 Neutral citation 2004 FCA 311 File numbers A-598-03 Decision Content Date: 20040921 Docket: A-598-03 Citation: 2004 FCA 311 CORAM: DÉCARY J.A. NOËL J.A. PELLETIER J.A. BETWEEN: PIERRE DE LAMIRANDE Applicant and ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA Respondent Hearing held at Montréal, Quebec, on September 21, 2004. Judgment delivered from the bench at Montréal, Quebec,on September 21, 2004. REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT: PELLETIER J.A. Date: 20040921 Docket: A-598-03 Citation: 2004 FCA 311 CORAM: DÉCARY J.A. NOËL J.A. PELLETIER J.A. BETWEEN: PIERRE DE LAMIRANDE Applicant and ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA Respondent REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Delivered from the bench at Montréal, Quebec, on September 21, 2004) PELLETIER J.A. [1] In our opinion, the Umpire properly understood the law when he said at page 3 of his reasons: The case law holds that a claimant cannot merely wait to be called in to work but must seek employment in order to be entitled to benefits (CUB 35563, CUB 23425 and CUB 52936). In effect, the claimant proposes that claimants who wish to receive benefits while on vacation have only to make themselves available on call. This undermines the purpose of the Employment Insurance system, which is to compensate workers who are unemployed for reasons beyond their control. This cannot apply to workers who take vacations on dates of their choice. See also this Court's decision in Canada (Attorney General) v. Cornelissen-O'Neill (1994), 174 N.R. 78. [2] The application for judicial review will therefore be dismissed with costs. "J. D. Denis Pelletier" J.A. Certified true translation Kelley A. Harvey, BA, BCL, LLB. FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL SOLICITORS OF RECORD DOCKET: A-598-03 STYLE OF CAUSE: PIERRE DE LAMIRANDE Applicant and ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA Respondent PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec DATE OF HEARING: September 21, 2004 REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF THE COURT: (DÉCARY, NOËL, PELLETIER, JJ.A.) DELIVERED FROM THE BENCH BY: PELLETIER J.A. APPEARANCES: Guy Martin FOR THE APPLICANT Pauline Leroux FOR THE RESPONDENT SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Pépin et Roy Montréal, Quebec FOR THE APPLICANT Morris Rosenberg Deputy Attorney General of Canada Montréal, Quebec FOR THE RESPONDENT