Questions and responses 41st Parliament, 1st session June 2, 2011, to September 13, 2013

With respect to Employment Insurance benefits and the Employment Insurance Board of Referees (EIBR), broken down by each Employment Insurance economic region and by fiscal year between from 2005-2006 to 2011-2012: (a) how many Chairpersons of the Employment Insurance Boards of Referees (EIBR) have been appointed; (b) for the answer to part (a), for each of the appointed Chairpersons, what (i) are their names, (ii) is the region each is/was responsible for, (iii) is the date of the appointment, (iv) is the expiry date of the appointment, (v) are the number of appeal hearings presided over, (vi) is the total amount of remuneration paid to each; (c) how many members chosen from employers or representatives of employers have been appointed to the Employment Insurance Boards of Referees (EIBR); (d) how many members chosen from insured persons or representatives of insured persons have been appointed to the Employment Insurance Boards of Referees (EIBR); (e) what is the number of Employment Insurance benefit applications; (f) for the answer to part (c), how many Employment Insurance benefit decisions have been appealed to the Employment Insurance Boards of Referees (EIBR); and (g) for the answer to part (f), how many of the Employment Insurance benefit decisions initially denied were (i) overturned by the Employment Insurance Boards of Referees (EIBR), (ii) upheld by the Employment Insurance Boards of Referees (EIBR)?

With regard to Employment Insurance (EI) for each calendar year since 2000: (a) how many applications for regular EI benefits have been submitted; (b) how many applications for regular EI benefits have been approved; (c) how many applications for regular EI benefits have been rejected, broken down by reason for rejection; (d) what was the average time for processing claims for regular EI benefits; (e) how many applications for special EI benefits have been submitted, broken down by benefit type; (f) how many applications for special EI benefits have been approved, broken down by benefit type; (g) how many applications for special EI benefits were rejected, broken down by reason for rejection; and (h) what was the average time for processing claims for special EI benefits, broken down by benefit type?

With regard to Employment Insurance (EI) for fiscal years 2006-2007 through 2012-2013 (year-to-date): (a) what was the volume of EI applications broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province where claim originated, (iii) region/province where claim was processed, (iv) the number of claims accepted and the number of claims rejected, (v) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (b) what was the average EI applications processing time broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province where claim originated, (iii) region/province where claim was processed, (iv) the number of claims accepted and the number of claims rejected, (v) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (c) how many applications waited more than 28 days for a decision and, for these applications, what was the average wait time for a decision, broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province where claim originated, (iii) region/province where claim was processed, (iv) the number of claims accepted and the number of claims rejected, (v) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (d) what was the volume of calls to EI call centres broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (e) what was the number of calls to EI call centres that received a high volume message broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (f) what were the national service level standards for calls answered by an agent at EI call centres broken down by year; (g) what were the actual service level standards achieved by EI call centres for calls answered by an agent at EI call centres, broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (h) what were the service standards for call backs by EI call centre agents broken down by year; (i) what were the service standards achieved by EI call centre agents for call backs broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (j) what was the average number of days for a call back by an EI call centre agent, broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (k) for EI processing centres, what was the number and percentage of term employees and the number and percentage of indeterminate employees, broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (l) for EI call centres, what was the number and percentage of term employees and the number and percentage of indeterminate employees, broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (m) how many complaints did the Office of Client Satisfaction receive, broken down by (i) year, (ii) region/province where the complaint originated, (iii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; (n) how long on average did a complaint take to investigate and resolve, broken down by (i) year, (ii) for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, by month; and (o) what were the major themes of the complaints received, broken down by year?

With regard to the Employment Insurance (EI) program and its administration: (a) how many overpayments have been made annually for the past five fiscal years by number and by amount, broken down by (i) region/province, (ii) year, (iii) misrepresented versus non-misrepresented cases; (b) how many overpayments have been collected annually for the past five fiscal years by number and by amount, broken down by (i) region/province, (ii) year, (iii) misrepresented versus non-misrepresented cases; (c) how many overpayments have been written off annually for the last five fiscal years by number and by amount, broken down by (i) region/province, (ii) year, (iii) misrepresented versus non-misrepresented cases; (d) how many EI cases have been adjudicated annually for the past five years, broken down by (i) region/province, (ii) year, (iii) misrepresented versus non-misrepresented cases; (e) what is the average caseload for EI inspectors annually for the past five fiscal years, broken down by (i) region/province, (ii) year, (iii) misrepresented versus non-misrepresented cases; (f) what is the average caseload for EI adjudicators annually for the past five fiscal years, broken down by (i) region/province, (ii) year, (iii) misrepresented versus non-misrepresented cases; (g) what is the EI Workload Status annually for the past five fiscal years, broken down by (i) region/province, (ii) year, (iii) total case intake, (iv) number of cases pending, (v) number of cases pending more than 29 days; and (h) excluding those on parental leave, what is the number of Service Canada employees on long-term disability leave in total and broken down by (i) EI call centres, (ii) EI processing centres?

With regard to Employment Insurance applications processed by Service Canada (SC) in Newfoundland and Labrador for each year between 2006 and 2011 to date, inclusively, and for each specific SC office by month: (a) how many applications were processed for (i) regular claims, (ii) fishing claims; (b) what were the average and median processing times for (i) regular claims, (ii) fishing claims; and (c) how many of the applications (i) received immediate approval, (ii) were approved after some follow-up between SC officials and the applicant, (iii) were rejected, (iv) were appealed, (v) were approved after appeal?

With regard to Employment Insurance appeals: (a) how many appeals were made to the Board of Referees in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) appeals made by claimants, (ii) appeals made by employers, (iii) province, (iv) region, (v) language, (vi) gender, (vii) appeals resulting in an overturn of the Department’s original decision, (viii) appeals not resulting in an overturn of the Department’s original decision, (ix) appeals withdrawn before hearing, (x) appeals withdrawn at hearing, (xi) appeals which were heard within 30 days of receipt of appeal notice, (xii) average number of days after receiving appeal notice before the hearing takes place; and (b) how many appeals were made to umpires in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) appeals made by claimants, (ii) appeals made by employers, (iii) appeals made by the EI commission, (iv) province, (v) region, (vi) language, (vii) gender, (viii) appeals resulting in an overturn of the Board of Referee’s decision, (ix) appeals not resulting in an overturn of the Board of Referee’s decision, (x) appeals withdrawn before hearing, (xi) appeals withdrawn at hearing, (xii) appeals which were heard within 60 days of receipt of appeal notice, (xiii) average number of days after receiving appeal notice before the hearing takes place?

With regard to the closure of the Kingston Employment Insurance (EI) processing centre as a result of Service Canada's EI modernization plan: (a) what are the current EI processing centre hubs in Ontario; (b) what criteria determine whether a processing centre is an EI processing centre hub in Ontario; (c) what were the relevant factors in determining which Ontario EI processing centres were deemed EI processing centre hubs; (d) if the Kingston EI processing centre is not currently an EI processing centre hub, was it ever designated an EI processing hub, and if so, (i) when was it so designated, (ii) for what reasons was it so designated, (iii) on what date did it cease to be a hub, (iv) what are the reasons it is now no longer a hub; (e) what was the rationale for the decision to close the Kingston EI processing centre and to consolidate services to the Sudbury EI processing centre, and how do both locations compare in terms of the following Service Canada consolidation criteria, namely (i) existing EI staff and accommodations to minimize fit-up costs, (ii) close proximity to EI Call Centre to facilitate recruitment and career development opportunities, (iii) co-location with other business lines to decrease overhead costs associated with accommodation, operational and administrative services, (iv) bilingual capacity, (v) opportunities for lower cost leases, (vi) proximity to post secondary institutions to support recruitment, (vii) high speed telecommunications capacity to support EI modernization strategy, (viii) labour force availability; (f) what is the current staffing level at the Sudbury EI processing centre; (g) what is the anticipated staffing level at the Sudbury EI processing centre as a result of the centre becoming a consolidated site, broken down by (i) new hires, (ii) relocated/transferred existing Service Canada employees; (h) what are the anticipated costs of (i) training the new hires at the Sudbury EI processing centre, (ii) relocating/transferring existing service Canada employees to the Sudbury EI processing centre; (g) given that the Kingston EI processing centre currently handles all of the mail for Northern and Eastern Ontario, (i) where will these services be performed after the Kingston centre's closure, (ii) what is the anticipated cost to relocate this service; and (h) given that the Kingston processing centre processes interstate and overseas EI benefit claims, (i) where will these services be performed after the Kingston centre's closure, (ii) what is the anticipated cost to relocate this service?

With regard to Employment Insurance (EI), for each of the past seven fiscal years as well as the year-to-date: (a) what was Service Canada's overall budget for EI; (b) what was Service Canada's budget for processing EI applications; (c) what was Service Canada's budget for EI call centres; (d) what was Service Canada's budget for reviewing EI appeals before they reached a hearing; (e) what was Service Canada's budget for investigating fraud; (f) how many staff did Service Canada allocate to EI overall; (g) how many staff did Service Canada allocate to processing EI applications; (h) how many staff did Service Canada allocate to EI call centres; (i) how many staff did Service Canada allocate to reviewing EI appeals before they reached a hearing; (j) how many staff did Service Canada allocate to investigating fraud; and (k) how many members of the Board of Referees were there, broken down by region and position?

With respect to Employment Insurance (EI) Processing Centres and EI Call Centres: (a) what was the statistical median and mode for EI application processing times, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (b) what is the total number and percentage of EI claim applications, nationally and broken down by province, that did not get paid within 28 days, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (c) for the claim applications that take longer than 28 days to process, what is the statistical average, median and mode number of days, nationally and broken down by province, that it takes for payment to occur, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (d) what was the percentage of automation achieved in EI processing, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (e) what was the number of EI processing staff, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (f) what is the bonus or incentive structure concerning EI application processing times achieved, for (i) workers, (ii) management; (g) for EI application claims that take longer than 28 days to process, is there a bonus or incentives structure to encourage that the application be processed as quickly as possible, for (i) workers, (ii) management; (h) what are the service standard policies for claims that take longer than 28 days to process; (i) have the service level standards for EI claims processing changed in the last six years, and, if so, (i) when, (ii) why; (j) what was the average EI processing worker salary, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (k) what was the total EI processing worker salary cost, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (l) what was the total number of EI Call Centre staff, nationally and in each province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (m) have the service level standards for EI Call Centre call backs changed in the last six years, and, if so, (i) when, (ii) why; (n) why did the National Service Level for Access II calls answered within 180 seconds change from 95% to 80% in 2008 at EI Call Centres; (o) what is the EI Call Centre agent Occupancy measure and what is the government's rationale for this measure; (p) what has been the EI Call Centre agent Occupancy target and result, nationally and broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (q) what was the target for EI Call Centre High Volume Targets for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (r) what was the total cost associated with training new EI Call Centre workers, broken down by province, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; (s) what is the average speed of answer for EI Call Centre calls, broken down by EI Call Centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date; and (t) what is the abandonment rate for calls at EI Call Centres, nationally and broken down by EI Call Centre, for the fiscal years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011 to date?

With regard to the Claims Processing Centre in Montague, Prince Edward Island: (a) what were and will be the total number of part-time, full-time and contract employees in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2008, (iv) 2009, (v) 2010, (vi) 2011, (vii) 2012, (viii) 2013, (ix) 2014, (x) 2015; (b) will the employees who are losing their positions in Montague be offered other positions elsewhere and, if so, at what locations; (c) how will these job losses affect services offered to residents of Prince Edward Island; (d) since the construction of the Claims Processing Centre in Montague, what have been the economic benefits for the town of Montague and the eastern Prince Edward Island region on a (i) cumulative basis, (ii) annual basis; (e) will the employees losing work due to these cuts be offered severance and, if so, what will the nature of the severance package be; and (f) how many employment insurance claims have been processed at the Montague Centre in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2008, (iv) 2009, (v) 2010, (vi) thus far in 2011?

With regard to employment policy and programs overseen by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada or delivered by Service Canada: (a) what research went into the design of each of the following policies and programs, (i) the Aboriginal Labour Market Programs, (ii) Employment Insurance, (iii) Employment Measures, (iv) Labour Market Agreements; (b) how is each of the following policies and programs monitored for outcomes, (i) the Aboriginal Labour Market Programs, (ii) Employment Insurance, (iii) Employment Measures, (iv) Labour Market Agreements; (c) what studies were conducted to ensure each of the following policies and programs was performing as planned, (i) the Aboriginal Labour Market Programs, (ii) Employment Insurance, (iii) Employment Measures, (iv) Labour Market Agreements; (d) what summative evaluations have been done concerning each of the following programs or policies, (i) the Aboriginal Labour Market Programs, (ii) Employment Insurance, (iii) Employment Measures, (iv) Labour Market Agreements; (e) who are the target clients for each of the following policies or programs, (i) the Aboriginal Labour Market Programs, (ii) Employment Insurance, (iii) Employment Measures, (iv) Labour Market Agreements; and (f) what were the reviews or audits done annually since 2000 of (i) the Aboriginal Labour Market Programs, (ii) Employment Insurance, (iii) Employment Measures, (iv) Labour Market Agreements?

With respect to budget cuts at the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development, including the computerization of Employment Insurance claims: (a) how many jobs will be cut across Canada over the next three years, (i) by region, (ii) by province; (b) when will these cuts take place and what Employment Insurance claims processing centres will be affected; (c) how many jobs will be transferred; (d) how many jobs will be eliminated through attrition; (e) how many public liaison officer positions will be eliminated; (f) how will the computerization of claims processing affect service to citizens in impacted areas; (g) exactly how much money will the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development save through these job cuts; (h) how will the computerization of claims processing help reduce wait times; (i) what is the department’s strategy to ensure that the transition to computerized claims processing does not increase wait times; (j) how long will it take, on average, to process a claim once the system is computerized; (k) how can a person without access to the Internet or basic computer skills file an Employment Insurance claim online; (l) what are the reasons for choosing to centralize claims processing in one centre over another, (i) was the unemployment rate one of the selection criteria; and (m) why are services being centralized in Thetford Mines, in the riding of Mégantic—L'Érable, not in New Richmond?

With regard to the plan to modernize Canada’s Employment Insurance program and the 2011 decision to consolidate Employment Insurance processing centres: (a) what were the selection criteria for determining where the six processing centres in Quebec would be located as part of the call for tenders; (b) which criteria resulted in Thetford Mines being chosen over Rimouski for the location of a processing centre; (c) in terms of the selection criteria, what were the results for each location that submitted its candidacy; (d) what is the estimated or anticipated itemized cost of moving the processing centre from Rimouski to Thetford Mines; (e) what are the estimated or anticipated itemized cost savings, on an annual basis, of moving the processing centre from Rimouski to Thetford Mines; and (f) when was the final decision made to move the processing centre to Thetford Mines?

With respect to Employment Insurance (EI) processing centres and EI call centres: (a) how many EI processing centres were there at the beginning of fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and where were they located; (b) what was the volume of EI applications processed at each EI processing centre for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to date; (c) what was the average EI applications processing time for each processing centre for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to date; (d) broken down by permanent and term positions, how many positions were there at each EI processing centre at the beginning of fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011; (e) how many employees in temporary term positions were hired at each EI processing centre to manage the anticipated increase in EI applications resulting from job losses during the 2008-2009 recession and the resulting Economic Action Plan; (f) how many permanent positions and term positions will be eliminated at each EI processing site between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2014; (g) what was the staff turnover rate per EI processing centre for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to date; (h) what was the cost to train an EI processing agent at the end of fiscal year 2011; (i) what was the per foot leasing cost per EI processing centre at the end of fiscal year 2011; (j) which EI processing sites have dedicated staff recruiters; (k) what is the cost per EI processing location of staff recruitment; (l) how many EI call centres were there at the beginning of fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and where were they located; (m) what was the volume of calls at each EI call centre for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to date; (n) how many positions, broken down by permanent and term positions, were there at each EI call centre at the beginning of fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011; (o) how many temporary term positions at each EI call centre were hired to manage the anticipated increase in EI inquiries resulting from job losses during the 2008-2009 recession and the resulting Economic Action Plan; (p) how many permanent positions and term positions will be eliminated at each EI call site between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2014; (q) what was the staff turnover per EI call centre for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to date; (r) what was the cost to train an EI call agent at the end of fiscal year 2011; (s) what was the per foot leasing costs per EI call centre at the end of fiscal year 2011; (t) which EI call centre sites have dedicated staff recruiters; (u) what is the cost per location of staff recruitment; (v) what were the national Service Level standards for calls answered by an agent for EI call centres for fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to date; (w) what was the actual Service Level for calls answered by an agent, achieved nationally and per EI call centre site, for fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2008, 2010, and 2011, to date; (x) what was the annual percentage of EI calls made to EI call centres that received a high volume message for fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to date; (y) what is the percentage of EI benefit payment notifications issued within 28 days of filing; and (z) what are age breakdowns of each EI applicant at each EI processing site during fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011?

With regard to Service Canada: (a) where are the Employment Insurance (EI) processing centers currently located; (b) how many employees are at each EI processing centre; (c) where are the EI call centers currently located; (d) how many employees are at each EI call centre; (e) where are the Canada Pension Plan/Old Age Security (CPP/OAS) call centers currently located; (f) how many employees are at each CPP/OAS call center; (g) under the new national workload system for EI claim processing, what is the regional breakdown for processing workload; (h) what is the rate of sick leave use among Service Canada employees in total and specifically for (i) EI processing centers, (ii) EI call centers, (iii) CPP/OAS call centers; (i) what is the number of Service Canada employees on short-term disability leave in total and specifically for (i) EI processing centers, (ii) EI call centers, (iii) CPP/OAS call centers; (j) what is the number of Service Canada employees on long-term disability leave in total and specifically for (i) EI processing centers, (ii) EI call centers, (iii) CPP/OAS call centers; (k) what is the rate of overtime and the number of hours of overtime worked at Service Canada in total and specifically for (i) EI processing centers, (ii) EI call centers, (iii) CPP/OAS call centers; (l) what is the percentage of term Service Canada employees and the percentage of indeterminate Service Canada employees in total and specifically for (i) EI processing centers, (ii) EI call centers, (iii) CPP/OAS call centers; (m) what is the number and percentage of term Service Canada employees who have been employed for more than three years in total and specifically for (i) EI processing centers, (ii) EI call centers, (iii) CPP/OAS call centers; (n) how many management employees (excluded and non-excluded) does Service Canada have in total and specifically for (i) EI processing centers, (ii) EI call centers, (iii) CPP/OAS call centers; (o) how many security guards does Service Canada employ; (p) how many Service Canada centers have a security guard present in total as well as those that specifically deal with EI claims; (q) how many EI overpayments have been assessed during each of the last five years; (r) how many penalties for EI overpayments have been recovered during each of the last five years; (s) what is the average length of time to investigate an overpayment during each of the last five years; (t) how many complaints did the Office of Client Satisfaction receive during each of the last five years; and (u) how long did the average complaint take to investigate and resolve during each of the last five years?