Employment Insurance (E.I.) is administered by the federal government and covers employees across Canada. Both the employer and the employee must contribute to the program for the employee to be eligible to draw benefits. The employer has a legal obligation to contribute on behalf of EVERY employee regardless of the hours worked or the salary earned. The following is a basic outline of the requirements for receiving E.I. For additional information contact the Comité du Chomage de Montréal.

You must have lost your job through no fault of your own. This means that if it was your employer’s decision, you must have been laid off due to lack of work, or some other reason that did not result from your misconduct. If it was your decision to leave the job you will only be able to receive EI if you had just cause for quitting such as but not limited to:
- Sexual or other harassment
- Discrimination (basd on race, religion, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, etc)
- Dangerous working conditions
- Excessive overtime or refusal to pay for overtime work
- Significant increase in work duties, without increase in salary, or unfair demotion
- Conflict with a supervisor
- Illegal activities by employer

The numbers of hours or weeks you need to qualify for EI are based on where you live and the unemployment rate in your region at the time you file your claim. There are two categories under which you may qualify, either as a “New Entrant” or as a “Regular Claimant”. New Entrant: you must have worked at least 910 hours in the year (52weeks) preceding the application.
Regular claimant: if you do not qualify as a “New Entrant” you may qualify as a “regular claimant”. To see of you qualify you must consider your work record for the past year as well as for the year prior to that (the pat 2 years in total). At the time of print, the number of insured hours required to qualify for regular benefits was 595 hours in the 52 weeks preceding your application and 490hours in a year before that.
For updated hours quotas see Service Canada.

The amount of benefits is generally 55% of the average weekly earnings for the past 26 weeks worked. However, there are a number of other factors taken into account which can lower this amount, for more info contact Comité du Chomage de Montréal.

Benefits vary according to the number of hours worked during the qualifying year and, again, vary depending according to the unemployment rate in the region in question. In Montreal, based on the November 2013 unemployment rate, the duration of benefit varies from a minimum of 18 weeks to a maximum of 42 weeks.

You must be available for full-time work and be actively looking for work. You may be called into the EI office to show that you have been looking for work (the officer may ask for proof that you have applied to one job a day) so remember to keep a list of all the places you have applied to.

You must file your claim online on Service Canada.

Unlike the rest of Canada, for Quebec residents, the province is responsible for providing maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption benefits to residents of Québec through a program called the Quebec Parental Insurance Program (QPIP). The Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) provides for the payment of benefits to all eligible workers new parents who take:
- maternity leave;
- paternity leave;
- adoption leave;
- parental leave.

This period is usually 52 weeks, regardless of the number of hours worked However, it can be extended to as many as 104 weeks if the applicant was unable to work and has not had insurable earnings for a variety of reasons. for more info on qualifying refer to Quebec Portal.

Yes, a basic plan and a special plan are offered. They differ in the duration of the leave and the percentage of income replaced. Before applying for a plan, the parents must determine which plan properly suits their needs. Follow this LINK for more details.

The CSST is the government insurer for Québec’s workers and employers. Under this insurance plan victims of work-related accidents or diseases are compensated.

Everyone who is being paid wages by an employer whether you are working full-time or part-time, whether you are unionized or not. If your are paid, you are automatically insured by the CSST from your first day of work even if you’re employer hasn’t paid its premium

Income replacement indemnity (to a maximum of $69,000 annually) Compensation for bodily injury: A worker who suffers a work-related accident or disease and who sustains permanent physical or mental impairment is entitled to compensation for bodily injury. Medical assistance costs and travel expenses.
The CSST covers the following medical assistance costs for a worker who is the victim of a work-related accident or disease :
• the services of health professionals
• care or treatment provided by a public health institution
• medicine and other pharmaceutical products
• prostheses and ortheses
• any care, treatment, technical aid or expenses determined by regulation by the CSST
Other indemnities:
Clothing damaged as a result of a work-related accident, clothing damaged by a prosthesis or orthesis which the worker must wear subsequent to an employment injury
Death benefit:
Compensation paid to surviving spouse, when a work-related accident or disease results in the death of a worker, the surviving spouse is entitled to a monthly and lump-sum indemnity. Compensation can also be paid to a child of full age and to other dependents.

You should consult your doctor who will provide you with a medical certificate. If you can not return to work the day after the accident, give the medical certificate to your employer. It must pay you directly compensation for the period of 14 days after you stop working; it will be reimbursed by the CSST.
If you stop working extends beyond 14 days, you must apply to the CSST by completing the Worker's Claim form available from your employer or CSST office in your area.
If your inability to work does not extend beyond 14 days, but you have incurred medical expenses or travel expenses and subsistence, you must also complete the Claim Form worker. You must send the form and your original receipts for medical expenses or travel and stay at the regional office of the CSST.
You must provide all information requested by the CSST.
You must submit to medical examinations required by your employer or by the CSST, within the limits provided by law.
To download and fill forms follow this link

For the actual day of the accident, your employer must pay you your full wages as if you had worked the whole day. For the first 14 days after your accident, your employer must pay you 90% of your net wages for every day or partial day that you would normally have worked. It must apply for reimbursement from the CSST.
From the 15th day, the CSST will pay you an indemnity equal to 90% of your net income. If you’re a worker pursuing studies, special rules may apply.

Employment standards are essentially the foundation for creating productive workplaces. They are a set of laws and acts that protect the rights of workers, foster cooperative relationships between employers and workers, and provide the necessary conditions for a productive economy. In Québec the Commission des Normes du Travail was created following the passage of the Act respecting labour standards in 1980, andl is a legal person created in the public interest within the meaning of the Québec Civil Code. The Commission reports to the Minister of Labour.

It covers labour standards: wages, pay and work; leaves and absences; at the end of employment; and disagreements.

The Commission des Normes du Travail has made available a thorough and comprehensive guide to labour standards in Québec in french and english, you can find it here: CNT Guide
Also other non-profit organizations such as the Immigrant Workers Center specialize in labour standards for foreign workers, illegal immigrants and newly arrived immigrants.

Not all diplomas and qualifications received abroad are recognized in Québec. To find out if yours are, you must submit a request for a comparative evaluation to the Ministere de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) . Processing times are lengthy, sometimes up to a year so file your request as soon possible.

To process your request for a comparative evaluation, MIDI requires the following:
- the form for the evaluation request duly completed and signed
- an accepted ID paper
- the education documents to be evaluated
- a translation of the documents presented if they are written in a language other than French or English
- the payment of the required fees according to accepted payment methods

To issue an Évaluation comparative des études effectuées hors du Québec(comparative evaluation for studies done outside Québec), the Le ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration uses the common framework for evaluating diplomas applied by all members of the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada. For more details please visit MIFI’s site