Finance Minister Joe Oliver is expected to announce that he will lower employment insurance premiums.
Oliver is holding a news conference today at 11 a.m EDT in Toronto at a flooring company, where he will announce measures to help small businesses.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the Harper government is making the EI premium cut as part of an effort to stimulate hiring. It's expected to come into effect on Jan. 1, 2015.
The Globe quotes a senior government official as saying that the cut will be "significant" and will be called the small business job credit.
The federal government announced last year that it would freeze premiums for the next three years, saying that the program's finances were improving.
It froze basic EI premium rates at $1.88 for every $100 earned until 2016.
Business groups have been calling for a cut, saying that higher premiums have made it more difficult to hire new workers.
