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    II. Principles of Law

    (h)Voluntary Leaving and Availability

    The requirement in section 18 of the Employment Insurance Act  , that a claimant be available for work in order to be entitled to benefits, is completely separate and independent from the disqualification established under section 30 of the Employment Insurance Act  . It is a mistake to assume that benefits are available whenever an employee leaves his or her employment for just cause. Accordingly, a claimant who voluntarily leaves his or her employment and who establishes that he or she had just cause for doing so is not disqualified from receiving benefits, but he or she will not be eligible to start receiving benefits until they can demonstrate that they are available for work.

    Canada (A.G.) v. XXXXXXX, September 28, 1995, F.C.J. No. 1264 (F.C.A.) A-479-94
    Canada (A.G.) v. White [1996], F.C.J. No. 973 (F.C.A.) A-736-95
    Canada (A.G.) v. Penney, [2005] F.C.J. No. 1145 (F.C.A.) A-388-04
    Donahue v. Canada (A.G.), [1998] F.C.J. No. 935 (F.C.A.) A-432-97; application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed, [1998] S.C.C.A. No. 457, March 25, 1999, (SCC) File No. 28667

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    2009-05-06