I actually thought I would able to get Employment Insurance while on maternity leave by becoming incorporated and having fewer shares in the company. This is true (thanks for looking in to this Nancy) BUT what I did not know was that no other family member or spouse can own the other shares. This means I would have to hand over my company to someone else completely, giving them 60% of the shares. Like that is going to happen, even if someone wanted part of my company. At the moment I am feeling really screwed and frustrated, but Mr W is trying to de-stress me. He isn't surprised, because as a welder he has dealt with EI a lot, and they always are trying to find a way not to pay out. This in a country where the EI surplus (because we all pay, but few get back) is $51 BILLION. The only province in Canada which will provide maternity benefits to self-employed individuals is Quebec. For a comparison of our basic EI and Quebec's plan go here. The basic differences are that Quebec's maximum insurable earnings is $57k, while for rest of Canada it is $39k, there are no minimum hours worked and no waiting periods, and it applies to self-employed people. Pack up honey… we are moving to Quebec!
Luckily for me I do qualify for it, though I still get screwed by the $39K cap.
Am thinking of writing some choice letters for sure, but I should clarify that I am not currently contributing, only that I have contributed in all my jobs in the past. But yes, which I have no hope of ever seeing any of at this point unless I am no longer self employed.
Mike
E.G. you sell the corporation to me for $1, with the option to buy it back for $1 anytime in the next 99 years.
Then find a friend, sell them the corporation (with this option to repurchase spelled out in the documentation) and collect EI...