My friend has been terminated from a full-time job recently by his employer due to Work Force Reduction. He is eligible to apply for claiming Employment Insurance from next month.
Meanwhile he got a contracting job for 6 months. He decided not to pay for himself from the contract job and leave the money earned in business account.
Can he claim EI until he finds a full-time job?
No, your friend would not be eligible for EI under these conditions. In order to claim EI, your friend must certify they are "ready, willing, and capable of working each day". As your friend is doing contract work, even though they are not drawing money, they do not meet the criteria.
Claiming EI while working a contracting job would be fraud, and is most definitely not what EI is there for.
