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Committee members, I will call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 14 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Today’s meeting is again taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of November 25. Members may attend in Zoom or in person. If you are attending by Zoom, use the Zoom application and the icons available. Choose the language of your choice.
Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from health authorities, I would anticipate that each of the members would follow proper health protocols. As the chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting. I thank members in advance for their co-operation.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow. Members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French. If the interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we will ensure interpretation is properly restored before resuming the proceedings.
The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or alert the chair.
For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in a committee room. Keep in mind the Board of Internal Economy's guidelines for mask use and health protocols.
While I'm referencing the interpretation services, I want to remind you that at a liaison committee meeting yesterday, we had a meeting with translation services. We could not conduct these meetings without the interpreters who translate for us. For those appearing virtually, it's very important that you have the proper headsets. The issue becomes not hearing you; it's the background noise that makes it difficult for the interpreters to do their job. As well, speak slowly and loudly. Again, I want to thank the translators for the valuable role they play.
I remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair.
With regard to a speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do our best to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person.
Later today, the minister will be appearing. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, January 31, 2021, the committee will proceed to a briefing on the ministerial mandate letters. Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4) and the motion adopted on Thursday, March 3, the committee will commence consideration of the main estimates for 2022-23.
Department officials will be appearing. They are Lori MacDonald, senior associate deputy minister, employment and social development and chief operating officer for Service Canada; Karen Robertson, chief financial officer and senior assistant deputy minister; Cliff Groen, senior assistant deputy minister, benefits and integrated services branch, Service Canada; Mary Crescenzi, assistant deputy minister, integrity services branch, Service Canada; Catherine Demers, associate assistant deputy minister, skills and employment branch; Andrew Brown, senior assistant deputy minister, skills and employment branch; Atiq Rahman, assistant deputy minister, learning branch; Nisa Tummon, assistant deputy minister, program operations branch; and Krista Wilcox, director general, officer for disability issues.
It's my understanding that we will go directly to a questioning round. I had a thumbs-up from Ms. MacDonald. No one will be making a statement, which is good, because the members like to maximize the time they have for questioning.
With that, thank you, witnesses, for appearing. We will begin the first six-minute round beginning with Madame Kusie for the opposition.
Madame Kusie, you have the floor for six minutes.
It is my pleasure to ask my questions of the representatives of the department who are with us today.
I would like to thank the witnesses for all the work you have done, particularly working virtually. I know it's difficult for some of you.
I would like to know your views on the subject of the estimates, particularly regarding two or three items that I think are important.
First, I would like you to talk to us about the modernization of the employment insurance system. I would like to know how you foresee the next few months going in connection with that priority, which seems to me to be extremely important.
Second, I would like you to talk to us about funding, and more specifically the funding programs associated with community organizations and the enabling accessibility fund, which supports people with a disability.
Could you provide us with information about these two items?
I will be pleased to answer the question.
The government is committed to modernizing the employment insurance scheme. That commitment was clearly stated in our minister's mandate letter. In fact, we are currently working to develop measures that will enable us to move forward with this modernization. A number of steps have already been completed.
We have to build on the lessons learned during the pandemic and the temporary measures that were put in place in the employment insurance scheme. Their purpose was to help workers affected by the pandemic access employment insurance measures more easily and with greater flexibility.
We also have to build on the lessons learned regarding the special measures in connection with the economic recovery. We want to help people who would normally not have been able to access the employment insurance program. These would include self-employed workers, for example.
Given the very significant needs of certain groups in the population, we have launched a program of consultations. The program began in August and focuses on several topics, including access to employment insurance and benefits for parents and families, and also the issue of self-employed workers, freelance workers and seasonal workers.
These issues were the subject of discussions during the first phase of consultations in August. The consultations involved round tables, surveys, and written submissions. They will be continuing over the coming months.
We have already received a lot of comments, which will help us update the proposals. However, we need more, because there are a number of topics to address. This is a very broad field.
The topics that will be examined include the adequacy of benefits and the financial model for the program. We also have to continue exploring measures to ensure that the scheme better meets the needs of self-employed and freelance workers. We have to understand and define those needs more clearly.
The work is underway and we are planning to continue the consultations this spring, as was announced at the end of the first phase.
All of this will enable us to make proposals in connection with the reform.
One very concrete element of the reform will be implemented: extending sickness benefits, a measure that was announced in budget 2021 and is scheduled for the end of the summer of 2022.
Those are just a few examples.
I would like to thank the witnesses for being with us today.
I have two main questions. One will be about the same subject, reform of the employment insurance scheme, and the other about the temporary foreign workers program, or TFWP, and in particular labour market impact assessments, or LMIAs.
Concerning the reform of the employment insurance program, the government had announced several hundred thousand dollars for consultations in the last budget. The problem is that they were not particularly transparent. It was hard to find the phases of the consultations on the department's website—we know, because we searched. As well, you held an online consultation. A request had been made for a report to be written. I am going to ask you the question again: is it possible to receive a report on this subject?
For transparency, can you give a clearer explanation of the steps in the consultation, the topics addressed, and the people who were consulted?
As well, you say there will be another phase. We also know that there have been problems associated with a lack of equity among the groups with whom meetings were held. I personally made a request to the Minister for the opposition party employment critics to be able to participate in the reform process.
Can the department clearly explain the stage of the consultation that is underway and the stages yet to come?
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So we are counting on you to be able to get all the necessary information when we consult the department's website.
Regarding the temporary foreign workers program, of course you know there is a labour shortage in a number of industries, our SMEs, the food processing industry, and so on.
The alarm is being sounded everywhere, even in my riding, where processing times for labour market impact assessments is hellacious. Companies call us because they are getting no response to their requests. We must not forget the costs associated with LMIAs. Processing times are exploding, and, on top of that, if you don't get answers within the time allowed, the work permits, which come under Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, expire.
What is the explanation for these extremely long processing times?
How can this be remedied, how can companies' needs for foreign labour be met in a timely manner?
I am going to come back to the temporary foreign worker program.
Ms. Tummon, in your answer regarding processing times for LMIA applications and the reasons behind those times, you said that you had to have discussions with Quebec, more specifically. That is so true that we believe it would be much simpler if Quebec managed the program, which is currently managed by Ottawa, because the processing times are inexplicable.
In the food and beverage sector, for example, there is something like a 25 per cent labour shortage. Eleven associations have joined together to propose concrete short-term solutions. They are asking that you sit down with them and look at long-term solutions.
What is the explanation for the inability to meet the needs of industries hit by the labour shortage in a timely manner?
There may be all sorts of explanations, and it may be that the shortage will fade over time, but at present, this is hurting industries and businesses.
What can you tell us about processing times?
How can we speed the process up?
Hi, everyone. Thank you for inviting me to join you today.
I'll be speaking to you first about main estimates.
The funding for Employment and Social Development Canada represents a total of $87.4 billion in planned budgetary expenditures. This is a net increase of $5 billion over last year's main estimates. This is primarily due to significant increases for the early learning and child care agreements with the provinces and territories and for the Canada student financial assistance program.
We're also forecasting important increases to the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement. These increases are actually being offset by a decrease for the three statutory temporary recovery benefits.
I'll now speak quickly to my mandate items so we can get to questions, where I'll account for some of the specifics of the estimates: supporting workers impacted by the pandemic; modernizing EI; improving the temporary foreign worker program; building a strong, skilled workforce; ensuring post-secondary education is more affordable; and making Canada a more barrier-free, disability-inclusive country.
As Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, I'm responsible for ensuring workers in Canada are supported. Most recently, this has meant the creation of the Canada worker lockdown benefit. During the rise of omicron in December, we expanded the definition of a lockdown so that more workers would be eligible. This expanded eligibility was extended and ended on March 12. We also increased the number of weeks available under the Canada recovery caregiving benefit and the Canada recovery sickness benefit, which, as you can see in the main estimates, show a combined decrease of almost $6.5 billion.
We're also focused on modernizing EI. Of course, one key lesson that we learned during the pandemic was just how important employment insurance is and how much stronger Canada's system could be. I'd like to thank the members of this committee for your excellent study on this issue, which included your 20 recommendations and which I regularly turn to to see if we're on track and to see how close the feedback I'm getting is to what all of you spent time recommending.
On February 17, we wrapped up phase one of our consultations. We held 10 national sessions and 11 regional sessions. We did a parallel online survey for Canadians and got more than 1,900 responses and 60 written submissions.
What we heard was that employment insurance could be more fair and more inclusive. It could be—and actually should be—simpler to navigate and should get benefits to Canadians quicker. We also heard that we need a program that supports workers and employers both when there's high unemployment and when there are labour shortages. I'm pleased to advise that we're going to publish a summary report soon on what we heard, and the second phase of consultation will begin in April.
Ensuring workers are safe and supported is also a critical part of my mandate, and that includes all workers. Another key priority for my department is addressing the systemic challenges that are in the temporary foreign worker program. I have publicly committed to a series of actions to improve upon the quality and timeliness of our inspections and, as we prepare for the 2022 agricultural season, my department has already taken steps to implement these actions. We are now truly better able to support our inspection staff through supplementary training, enhanced tools and improved workload management.
I'm also working with the to help address labour shortages in farming and food processing. Earlier this year, we streamlined the processing for many of these employers, and we're working with the to establish a new trusted employer system. You'll also see about an additional $19 million in the main estimates for a migrant worker support network, and that's to enhance the temporary foreign worker program.
We also know that Canada is experiencing a shortage of available workers across many sectors and regions. To grow our economy, I'm taking action to maximize workforce participation by breaking down barriers to employment and by helping workers upskill to adapt to a changing labour market. To this end, I'm committed to expanding the foreign credential recognition program to help more newcomers enter the Canadian job market quicker. Yesterday morning, I announced funding for nine organizations that will help thousands of qualified newcomers enter our health care workforce more quickly.
I'm also moving forward with a disability employment strategy to help employers make their workplaces more inclusive and reach this untapped talent pool.
Another priority is to promote the skilled trades as first career choices for young people and diverse populations. We've launched the national skilled trades advertising campaign, which provides information on training, federal funding and in-demand trades by region.
We also have committed to doubling the union training and innovation program, or UTIP, which is a very popular program. We are moving forward with our apprenticeship service, which will provide more training opportunities for Canadians pursuing a career in the trades. Just last week, we announced new investments in Halifax and in Sudbury through UTIP. That will ensure more people get trained in skills such as carpentry and other essential in-demand skilled trades.
My mandate is a big one, but it also includes ensuring that Canada's workforce is ready to meet a low-carbon future. We're doing this by investing in our new sectoral workforce solutions program. To build talent for the clean economy, we're also committed to launching our new clean jobs training centre.
As you can see, there is a lot going on.
To make life more affordable, a critical part of my mandate is to make post-secondary education more accessible in Canada. To do this, we've committed to permanently eliminating federal interest on Canada student loans. We're also making repayment systems more flexible and less burdensome on Canadians, through multiple measures, including increasing the repayment assistance program threshold to $50,000 for borrowers who are single and allowing new parents to pause repayments until their youngest child reaches the age of five.
We're also looking to increase debt forgiveness for doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners who work in rural and remote areas, and we're committed to increasing this debt forgiveness by 50%.
Before I conclude, I want to turn to a part of my mandate that is close to my heart, as you know, and that's our work to improve the lives of Canadians with disabilities. No Canadian with a disability should live in poverty—no one should. One of my key priorities is to create a new Canada disability benefit and consult on its design with members of the disability community, provinces and territories and other stakeholders. Once implemented, such a benefit could help lift hundreds of thousands of working-age Canadians with disabilities out of poverty.
I'd like to take a moment to thank those members who have contacted me personally with their support to retable this legislation. I'm committed to doing so in the House as soon as possible.
This benefit is a cornerstone piece of our new disability inclusion action plan. This plan has four pillars: financial security, employment, inclusive communities and a modern approach to disability. In the spirit of “nothing without us”, we are committed to working closely with the disability community on the disability inclusion action plan and the design of the new benefit, because persons with disabilities know best what we need, the challenges we face and what barriers most prevent us from having financial security.
I'm happy to point out that over $78 million for the enabling accessibility fund and over $67 million for the opportunities fund are reflected in the main estimates for persons with disabilities.
I'll leave it there, Chair.
I hope that's demonstrated the breadth and strength of my commitment to my mandate priorities. I look forward to questions.
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Thank you, Chair. I'm sharing my time with MP Van Bynen.
Minister Qualtrough, Carla, welcome and thank you for coming back to speak with us today. It's always a pleasure to have you back, and I thank you so much for the work you do on behalf of so many Canadians.
As we know, the Canada disability benefit was tabled in the last Parliament. It died on the Order Paper. I'm very happy to see it remains part of your mandate, and I'm really looking forward to fulfilling this important platform promise.
In New Brunswick, approximately 23% of the working-age population lives with a disability. This benefit will be crucial to those who live in my riding Saint John-Rothesay and across Canada.
I actually tabled a motion to study how a benefit such as this would reduce poverty among working-age Canadians with disabilities and how the federal government can improve access to federal programs and services for persons with disabilities. I look forward to getting to work on it in the near future.
Minister, could you explain the importance of the Canada disability benefit and exactly what you believe it will achieve and can you provide any insight on when my constituents can expect this legislation to come into place?
Thank you and welcome.
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Thank you for the question.
I don't recall saying that, but frankly,
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what I have always committed to is getting this right.
I've been very clear that we need to do this in stages and phases. We want to get the more agreed-upon consensus elements built into the system more quickly, and take the time we need to dig in on the elements for where there might not be consistency.
Specifically, around the self-employed benefit, when I think of that...We have to consider the costs of doing this, and we have to phase it in through costs. We have to consider the need to make system changes.
We are putting forth a bold vision for EI, where benefits are accessible and adequate, and address the needs of workers today. That will be done as quickly as possible, ensuring we take into account all the factors I've just put forth.
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Yes. I guess from a point of view of parliamentary decorum I would say the elements would be the same. I can't opine on letter for letter, word for word, because I wouldn't want in any way to be out of line on this.
This is really framework legislation in the spirit of “nothing without us”, working, co-developing the benefit with the disability community. This creates a framework wherein we get the regulatory authority to work with provinces to ensure there are no clawbacks of this benefit, to ensure that the amount ultimately lifts people out of poverty. That's why we are funding Independent Living Canada to work with the disability community to recommend eligibility criteria.
Of course, as we all know, it's not a business the federal government has been in historically, so we are hard-pressed to find easy lists of people who could be eligible. We have the disability tax credit. We have people who get disability benefits through Veterans Affairs and CPP disability. But unlike, say, seniors, where we can identify everybody in this country who is over 65, we can't do that yet with disability, because of the lack of data. We really need to understand the enormous challenge of defining the eligibility criteria, and that work is already ongoing, but the legislation will give us the legal framework to basically bring the ball over the finish line, I would say.
That's not an analogy. I think I just missed it. Anyway, you know what I mean.
Welcome, Minister. Thanks for your attendance here today.
Mr. Chairman, please note that I'm going to be sharing my time with my friend and colleague Mr. Coteau.
The first question I have, Minister, is around the foreign credential recognition program that you highlighted in your opening.
Over the years, I've met dozens of residents in my riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek who are health care workers, engineers, accountants and other professionals and who are anxious to share their expertise with us as part of our Canadian economy and to contribute with the training they've received from wherever they've come from in the world.
I know that you made an announcement yesterday. I was hoping that you could elaborate on the announcement and share with us the progress that we've made—and you've made—with the foreign credential recognition program, and what we might expect to see in 2022.
I think we cannot underestimate the importance of newcomers to Canada's workforce and of making sure that we are actually using their skills and talents and helping them get into the workforce as quickly as possible in their area of expertise. We're experiencing a shortage of available workers, and this is a labour tool that is ripe for us to use.
What the foreign credentials recognition program does is fund provincial and territorial regulatory bodies to enhance foreign credential recognition, so part of the funding goes to work to untangle some of the credential recognition challenges that individuals face. We also fund organizations that help newcomers navigate these complicated processes, and we fund organizations and employers to provide first Canadian work experiences in somebody's area of expertise or education.
Those are the three prongs of attack of this program: try to streamline the processes, support organizations that are helping individuals access or get through these processes, and actually give that first work experience. The announcements we made yesterday for these nine organizations did a combination of this in working with a national group of nurses to help navigate and streamline nursing regulations in Ontario; in supporting employers who want to hire newcomers and provide them that first Canadian experience; and in supporting local organizations that work with newcomers in broader wraparound service provisions, as one of the things they do, to help them navigate and get their credentials recognized.
I think we're going to see exciting things. We've increased the budget significantly for this program, and I think it is a key prong of our approach to addressing labour shortages.
Thank you, Chair.
I want to start by acknowledging that I'm now the third member, from a third political party, who is raising the subject of the Canada disability benefit this afternoon. Really, I'm following Mr. Long and Ms. Zarrillo in amplifying the calls of Disability Without Poverty and so many others across the country who've been putting in the work on this for years and years, including on the principles referred to earlier. As the knows well, those principles are on the Disability Without Poverty website with respect to implementing the Canada disability benefit.
I'd like to go further yet in recognizing how important this is, as was referred to earlier in this conversation. It was referred to in question period yesterday and in my conversation with the parliamentary secretary the day before.
I understand that the minister is not able to share a timeline for “when”, so in light of that, I wonder, knowing, Minister Qualtrough, of your support for the Canada disability benefit, if you could speak about the specific steps that have been taken over the last few months to move closer to making progress in the legislative agenda, and if you could speak to the specific progress being made in order to fast-track the reintroduction of the Canada disability benefit.
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Thank you, Mr. Morrice. Thank you for your relentless pursuit of this. I'm appreciative.
We tabled the legislation last June. It died on the Order Paper. It was a clear, foundational part of the Liberal Party platform in the last election. It is in my mandate letter, and the, all of our colleagues in cabinet and I are committed to introducing this legislation. I can tell you that, as we've worked to move forward on many aspects of the disability file, this has been the unwavering cornerstone of the work we're trying to do.
As you may have heard me say, it would be the flip side of the investments we make in employment. Ideally, the more people we get working, the better. Until we remove the barriers that we've put up as a society and until we recognize that we created this situation, we need to make sure people aren't living in poverty.
That's as much detail as I can think of, but I can assure you that it's a top priority for our government. It is simply a matter of when, not if. It will happen.