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Results: 1 - 15 of 50
View Han Dong Profile
Lib. (ON)
Like you, I look forward to seeing what will be in the budget on April 19 to support small businesses further.
Last March, Canadians realized that the EI system just wasn't designed to handle the unprecedented pandemic we were facing. That is why the CERB was created, to support what I think was eventually eight million Canadians who had lost their jobs.
In September of last year, we transitioned back to a simplified EI program and created the Canada recovery benefit for those who did not qualify under the previous EI qualifications.
Based on the input from your membership, how would you say the flexibility within the Canada recovery benefit will create more incentive to work? Have you heard anything back from them on that?
Corinne Pohlmann
View Corinne Pohlmann Profile
Corinne Pohlmann
2021-04-15 17:21
As I mentioned, the one thing our members found difficult was that you could get a maximum of $500 per week through the CRB or the simplified EI system, and for some of them that has presented a real challenge as they have tried to attract people back to work, especially businesses that often rely on part-time workers, for example. That has been the one measure within the CRB and the temporary EI system that has been a real challenge for smaller companies, because some people were able to earn more not going back to work than going to work, since they might work only part time. I think those are some of the things we really have to think about before we move forward with making any permanent changes that may reflect some of those things.
View Han Dong Profile
Lib. (ON)
That's very interesting.
In your opinion, what are the benefits of having Canadians receive EI regular benefits as opposed to the CERB?
Corinne Pohlmann
View Corinne Pohlmann Profile
Corinne Pohlmann
2021-04-15 17:22
Employment insurance is an insurance program, so it's based on whoever pays into it being able to benefit from it. We understand the need for CRB being set up during the pandemic, because obviously there are not just individuals who may not have paid enough into the EI system—though it also reduced the qualifying amounts by quite a bit—but also a lot of self-employed, including our members, who have used the CERB and the CRB systems to help themselves through the pandemic. About 34%-35% of our members had no income coming in, and when you're self-employed, you don't have access to the EI system, as you know. It became an important lifeline for some of them as well.
View Han Dong Profile
Lib. (ON)
There is flexibility designed into the CRB system that allows workers to maintain employment, especially for regions that are experiencing lockdowns. Can you speak to that a bit?
Corinne Pohlmann
View Corinne Pohlmann Profile
Corinne Pohlmann
2021-04-15 17:23
That was certainly, I think, an improvement over the CERB. People could earn a certain amount of money and still get the CRB at the same time. That was definitely something we applauded at the time. I think that flexibility was an improvement in the transition to a CRB system.
View Louise Chabot Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you.
My question is going to be about benefits and Service Canada.
As you said, Minister, there are many benefits that have been put in place to support workers or businesses. However, I want to bring to your attention the fact that many files stalled when workers applied for the Canada recovery benefit.
Service Canada would tell them that a file in their name was already open and that blocked their application. This happened to hundreds of thousands of people. There were delays of seven to eight weeks, even though people were entitled to benefits [Technical difficulty—Editor]. On this issue, there are still documents that say the forms are not tailored to their reality. Asking a self-employed person if he's looking for a job may not be the right question to ask. They are looking for clients. There are no jobs, because businesses are closed. All of this makes for delays.
Can you assure us of smooth and timely services?
Cliff C. Groen
View Cliff C. Groen Profile
Cliff C. Groen
2021-03-16 15:26
Thank you for your question.
Up-to-date delivery of benefits is a very high priority for our department. That is why, since the employment insurance program was re-launched in October, more than 98% of all claims have already been processed and more than 94% were processed according to service standards.
On the other hand, we know that clients have sent applications to Service Canada and then to the Canada Revenue Agency. We need to work out a number of details with these clients, before we can determine if they can apply to the agency. The Canada Revenue Agency and Service Canada have a process in place to handle these applications on a priority basis.
We are committed to addressing this issue.
Thank you.
View Wayne Long Profile
Lib. (NB)
Minister, certainly I'll echo that. Certainly in my constituency office here in Saint John-Rothesay, I got calls from people who simply didn't qualify for EI or whose benefits were running out, and to think that the other party was saying it was too generous.... These were people who literally couldn't afford to buy groceries, to pay their rent and so on. I think we can all agree that the CERB was a lifeline for really, as you say, eight million Canadians.
Minister, I want to switch to the CRB. When the CERB ended, a large portion of recipients were transitioned to a simplified EI program. Some were ineligible for EI benefits, and again all of us had those calls at the office.
As a result, our government created three Canada recovery benefits to support Canadians during the transition. How many Canadians in total have been helped by the recovery benefits?
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
Oh my goodness. The CRB is at about 1.75 million Canadians as of February 27. The sickness benefit is at around 411,000. The caregiving benefit is at around 343,000. It's a significant number. That's not including the millions on EI.
View Wayne Long Profile
Lib. (NB)
Right, and I think we can all realize what would have happened without the extension of those benefits. We all got calls. I got calls into my office from people who were certainly desperate. Their EI was running out. They didn't have other options.
Again, these benefits were a lifeline to Canadians. That's what a good government does. A good government delivers benefits that Canadians need, certainly in times of crisis, so thank you for that, Minister, and—
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
Sure.
This bill would make important amendments to the Employment Insurance Act, the Canada Recovery Benefits Act and the Customs Act that would allow us to continue to support Canadians.
Last summer and fall, we laid out a plan to continue to support Canada's workforce through the ongoing pandemic. We transitioned from the CERB to a simplified employment insurance program and introduced a suite of recovery benefits to provide income support to workers whose employment continues to be impacted by COVID-19.
At that time, we said we'd monitor labour market changes and make adjustments as needed. We've done that and are following through on our commitment to continue providing certainty for workers.
The bill being proposed is to increase the maximum number of available weeks of EI regular benefits and make sure that Canadians don't face a gap in receiving the support they continue to need right now.
If this bill does not get passed and receive royal assent before the end of March, tens of thousands of Canadians will be notified as early as March 26 that they have exhausted their EI regular benefits, so we need to get this done.
Parallel to this bill, we are making increases, through regulations, to the number of weeks available under the Canada recovery benefit, the Canada recovery caregiving benefit and the Canada recovery sickness benefit, and to secure job-protected leave under the Canada Labour Code.
Let me now discuss the amendments to the EI Act in more detail.
Bill C-24 amends the Employment Insurance Act to increase the number of weeks that workers can claim in EI regular benefits. Workers will now be eligible for up to a maximum of 50 weeks for claims established between September 27, 2020, and September 25, 2021.
It would enable millions of Canadians to continue to receive support while still having access to the essential employment insurance system resources and tools for them to be able to re-enter the labour market.
Such resources include working while on claim, where workers can keep part of their EI benefits and all earnings from their job. The work-sharing program allows companies to redistribute available work through a voluntary reduction in hours worked by all employees within one or more work units. It also allows employers to retain a full workforce on a reduced workweek, rather than laying off part of their workforce. This keeps workers on the job, which is key to Canada's successful economic recovery.
Our country's labour market is also changing rapidly because of the pandemic. This new reality requires additional skills and training for more workers. It is another good reason to broaden access to the employment insurance system. Out-of-work Canadians would have access to courses and training programs while receiving employment insurance benefits.
We know that Canadians want to work. Evidence from last year's labour market data clearly shows that when there is work available, Canadians take these jobs.
I also highlight that, as part of this legislation, self-employed workers participating in the EI program would be able to temporarily access EI special benefits with an earning threshold of $5,000, compared to the previously set threshold of $7,555. Self-employed workers have also been hard-hit by the pandemic and need this extra support.
I'd also like to speak about travellers returning to Canada and their access to Canada recovery benefits. We have also said clearly that these benefits, and in particular the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, were established to allow Canadians to have paid sick leave when it is not available from their employer.
The amendments to the Canada Recovery Benefits Act and the Customs Act that are proposed in Bill C-24 would make Canadians who travel for non-essential reasons ineligible for recovery benefits. However, Canadians who travel internationally for medical treatment that is considered by a medical practitioner to be necessary, or to accompany such a person as an attendant, will remain eligible for recovery benefits, as will Canadians who travel internationally for essential reasons and must self-isolate upon their return to Canada.
The application of these eligibility rules will be retroactive to October 2, 2020, which is when the recovery benefits were introduced after the Canada Recovery Benefits Act received royal assent.
As I mentioned earlier, we are still in a crisis. We'll continue to monitor the labour market and will be there for workers during this difficult period.
Let me close by restating the importance of passing this legislation in a timely manner. The bill has been in the hands of all members since February 23. All parties have said the bill is straightforward and necessary. I urge all parties to move this bill along as quickly as possible. Let's listen to workers who are relying on EI to pay their bills and support their families.
Thank you.
Frank Vermaeten
View Frank Vermaeten Profile
Frank Vermaeten
2021-02-23 15:32
Thank you very much and good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee today as you continue your review of the employment insurance program.
With me is my colleague, Annette Butikofer, who's assistant commissioner and chief information officer of the information technology branch at the Canada Revenue Agency. In my brief remarks, I'd like to provide the committee with a short description of the CRA's responsibility with regard to delivering benefits to Canadians.
First and foremost, the CRA seeks to ensure that Canadians obtain benefit payments in a timely manner and have avenues of redress when they disagree with a decision on their benefit eligibility. The CRA administers the Canada child benefit, the goods and services tax, the harmonized sales tax credit, the children's special allowances program, the disability tax credit, the Canada workers benefit and provincial and territorial programs.
Indeed, the CRA uses its federal tax delivery infrastructure to administer 181 services, ongoing benefits and one-time payment programs on behalf of the provinces and territories. These income-tested benefits and other services contribute directly to the economic and social well-being of Canadians by supporting families and children.
I should note that while the CRA is the administrator of many other benefits, the CRA has no direct involvement in the administration of the EI program or the EI system.
As the committee may know, the CRA's role in delivering benefits evolved as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, at the peak of the 2019 tax season. The CRA shifted gears to focus on the administration and issuance of emergency benefits to Canadians impacted by the pandemic. The Canada emergency response benefit was launched in April 2020 and was jointly administered by the CRA and Service Canada. Given the speed required to deliver the CERB payments to Canadians—within some three weeks—and the initial 16-week duration, the CRA leveraged pre-existing information technology services to ensure that payments would be issued on a timely basis.
As of February 14, 2021, the CRA had processed 22,652,229 CERB applications, representing $45.3 billion paid to Canadians. The CERB was followed by the Canada emergency student benefit, or CESB, in 2020, which leveraged the program and system design of CERB. Through the course of administering the CESB, the CRA has processed 2,140,226 applications, representing $2.94 billion paid to Canadians.
As part of the transition from CERB, since the fall of 2020, the CRA now administers three new COVID benefits: the Canada recovery benefit, the Canada recovery caregiver benefit and the Canada recovery sickness benefit.
As of February 13, 2021, the CRA had processed and paid out to Canadians, for the CRB or recovery benefit, 9,864,423 applications, representing $9.86 billion. For the CRCB—the caregiver benefit—we paid out 2,840,045 applications, representing $1.42 billion, and for the CRSB there have been 675,473 applications, representing $337.74 million.
In addition, the CRA also administers the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency rent subsidy programs, which were launched to assist businesses during the pandemic. As of February 14, 2021, 2,619,890 wage subsidy applications had been approved, with a $65.56-billion value of subsidies approved. As of February 7, 2021, 347,480 rent subsidy applications had been approved, with $1.29 billion in payments of subsidies approved.
In conclusion, while the CRA has no direct involvement in the administration of the EI program or systems, as those are the responsibility of ESDC, the CRA plays an important role in delivering many other benefits on which Canadians rely.
Thank you again for the invitation to appear, Mr. Chair. Ms. Butikofer and I would be happy to answer any questions the committee may have.
View Philip Lawrence Profile
CPC (ON)
Thank you very much. You've said everything I need.
I would like to jump now to the administering of the CERB claims. Could you give us an idea about what the rate of decline is for the CERB and/or the CRB? How many applications are declined for substantive or technical...if you have that degree of information?
Frank Vermaeten
View Frank Vermaeten Profile
Frank Vermaeten
2021-02-23 15:45
It's difficult to say. It changes.
When we launched the CERB, we declined a very small number of the applications. When the program was up and running, there weren't as many upfront validations and we didn't have 2019 income at that time. Then we moved to the CRB and the new measures. We put in place more upfront validation. We're able to look at 2019 income. We're able to look at a broader range of things.
I don't have a precise number, but my guess would be a little bit under 5%. I can certainly get that for you.
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