HUMA Committee appearance binder: Appearance of Minister Carla Qualtrough - March 11 2021
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1. Speaking Notes
Original title: Speaking Notes for the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough - Appearance before the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) - Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (additional regular benefits), the Canada Recovery Benefits Act (restriction on eligibility) and another Act in response to COVID-19 - March XX, 2021
Word count: 570 -cannot exceed
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2021 PA 0221
Mr. Chair and Committee members, thank you for inviting me to join you today as part of your study of Bill C-24. I would like to acknowledge that I am joining you from the traditional territory of the Tsawwassen and Musqueam First Nations.
I am happy to provide you with some context and to answer any questions you may have.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has been there for Canadian workers and their families. Through a number of support measures, we have helped them stay healthy, safe and financially solvent.
Our first support program-the Canada Emergency Response Benefit-helped nearly 9 million Canadians between March and September 2020.
And among other supports, we also provided financial assistance to students and persons with disabilities.
Last fall, we laid out our plan to continue to support Canadians during the pandemic.
We transitioned from the CERB to a simplified Employment Insurance program.
At the same time, Parliament unanimously passed the Canada Recovery Benefits Act to provide income support to workers who weren't eligible for EI but whose employment continued to be impacted by COVID-19.
At the time, we said we'd monitor the labour market and make adjustments as needed.
Even though there is a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines, we're still in a crisis. The pandemic and prolonged public health measures to address its impact have resulted in difficult circumstances for many workers and their families.
Bill C-24 responds to this reality.
Bill C-24 would make important amendments to the Employment Insurance Act that would permit the Government of Canada to temporarily increase the maximum number of weeks available under EI regular benefits.
Workers claiming EI regular benefits would be eligible for up to a maximum of 50 weeks for claims established between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.
Additionally, self-employed workers would be able to access EI special benefits with an earnings threshold of $5,000 in 2020, compared to the previously set threshold of $7,555. This change would be retroactive to claims established as of January 3, 2021, and would apply until September 25, 2021.
And as announced on February 19th, the Government of Canada would make complementary regulatory changes to increase the number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit. Canadians would then be able to access a maximum of 38 weeks under each of these benefits.
The Government would also increase the maximum number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit from 2 to 4 weeks.
Bill C-24 would also close what has become known as the "travellers' loophole" and would prevent those travelling for non-essential purposes from using any of the recovery benefits to pay for their time in quarantine or isolation. This change would be retroactive to October 2, 2020, when the Canada Recovery Benefits Act became law.
Conclusion
Taken together, the changes proposed through Bill C-24 will help Canadians bridge the gap between now and the end of the pandemic.
There is some urgency. Without these proposed changes, Canadians could begin to use up their benefits by the end of March.
Let's work together across party lines to get this done and ensure people have the support they need to get them through.
I would now be pleased to answer any questions you might have.
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2. Timeline and legislation for EI-CERB-CRB
1. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit
Start date: March 15, 2020
End date: October 3, 2020
The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was an important and necessary temporary response to support Canadian workers, including the self-employed, who stopped working due to COVID-19. The CERB provided a weekly amount of $500 for up to 28 weeks, between March 15, 2020, and October 3, 2020. The deadline to retroactively apply for CERB was December 2, 2020.
Legislation
The CERB was delivered under the authority of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act by the Canada Revenue Agency and under the authority of the Employment Insurance Act by Service Canada.
2. Temporary Enhancements to Employment Insurance
Start Date: September 27, 2020
End Date: September 25, 2021
As part of Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the Government transitioned from the CERB to a simplified Employment Insurance (EI) program, effective September 27, 2020, to provide income support to eligible workers who remain unable to work. Recognizing that many workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic will have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours, a set of temporary measures have been introduced to facilitate access to EI benefits. Measures include:
- a minimum unemployment rate of 13.1% applies to all regions across Canada since August 9, 2020 and until September 11, 2021
- allowing workers with 120 insurable hours to qualify for benefits because of a one-time credit of:
- 300 insured hours if applying for regular benefits, and
- 480 insured hours if applying for sickness, maternity, parental or caregiving benefits
- a minimum weekly benefit of $500 per before taxes, or $300 before taxes for extended parental benefits
These measures allow Canadians to qualify for EI with a one-time eligibility of 120 hours of work, establish a minimum benefit rate of $500 per week and provide a minimum entitlement of 26 weeks of regular benefits.
To support small businesses and workers, the Government of Canada has also frozen the EI premium rate for 2 years at the current 2020 rate.
In early January 2021, Canada experienced an increase in COVID-19 infections, which resulted in additional public health measures and increased financial pressure on workers. In response, the Government of Canada waived the waiting period for all new EI claims established from January 31, 2021 until September 25, 2021. This enables eligible workers to be paid for the first week of unemployment.
Legislation and Regulations
The hours credit, minimum benefit rate and minimum weeks of entitlement were made through an interim order under the authority of the Employment Insurance Act.
The waiving of the waiting period was made through amendments to the Employment Insurance Regulations under the authority of the Employment Insurance Act.
3. Recovery Benefits
Start date: September 27, 2020
End Date: September 25, 2021
The Government introduced 3 temporary Recovery Benefits to provide income support to those Canadian workers who are not eligible for EI and those who require tailored support when their employment is affected by COVID-19. These benefits are effective from September 27, 2020 until September 25, 2021. These include the:
- Canada Recovery Benefit
The new Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) provides a benefit amount of $500 per week (available in 2-week periods) for up to 26 weeks for those who are not eligible for EI and are not employed or self-employed due to COVID-19, or have had their employment/self-employment income reduced by at least 50% due to COVID-19.
- Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit
The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) provides a benefit amount of $500 per week (available in 1-week periods), for up to 2 weeks for those who are unable to work because they are sick or must self-isolate due to COVID-19, or have underlying conditions would make them more susceptible to COVID-19.
- Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit
The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) provides a benefit amount of $500 per week (available in 1-week periods) for up to 26 weeks for those who are unable to work because they must care for their child under the age of 12 or family member who needs supervised care.
Legislation
The Canada Recovery Benefits Act established the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit to support Canada's economic recovery in response to COVID-19. The Canada Recovery Benefits Act received Royal Assent on October 2, 2020.
4. Extension of Employment Insurance regular benefits
Start date: March 27, 2021
End Date: September 25, 2021
On February 19, 2021, the Government announced its intention to extend EI regular benefits to a maximum of 50 weeks.
Legislation and Regulations
On February 25, 2021, the Government tabled Bill C-24 to extend the EI regular benefits. The bill is before Parliament.
5. Extension of the Recovery Benefits
Start date: March 27, 2021
End Date: September 25, 2021
As announced on February 19, 2021, the Government of Canada will increase the number of weeks of benefits available for the CRB and CRCB by 12 weeks through regulations. As some workers could begin to exhaust their benefits in late March 2020, this increase would ensure continued support as Canada's economy and labour force recovers.
The Government has also announced that additional 2 weeks would be available for the CRSB so that Canadians do not have to make the choice between going to work sick with COVID-19 and putting food on the table.
Legislation and Regulations
The Government will make regulatory changes to extend the Canada Recovery Benefit, Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.
6. Amendments to close the travellers loophole
Start date: October 2, 2020
End date: September 25, 2021
The Prime Minister announced on January 5, 2021 that access to the recovery benefits would be restricted for international travellers coming back to Canada while they have to isolate or quarantine upon their return. This will close the loophole that allowed international travellers to access the recovery benefits.
Legislation
Bill C-24 proposes to amend the Canada Recovery Benefits Act to add a new eligibility condition so that people who are required to quarantine or isolate upon their return to Canada will not be eligible to receive the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit or the Canada Recovery Benefit during the period of their quarantine or isolation.
3. Cost of EI-Emergency Response Benefit (EI-ERB), Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and Canada Recovery Benefits (CRB, CRCB, CRSB)
Issue
What are the cost of the EI-ERB, CERB, Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), and Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit?
Key facts
- As of February 28th, 2021, $74.8 billion has been spent on CERB administered by both ESDC and CRA.
- As of February 28th, 2021, $12.9 billion has been spent on the 3 Canada Recovery Benefits.
Response
The total spending on each measure as of February 28, 2021 is:
- EI-ERB $29.4 billion
- CERB $45.4 billion
- CRB $11 billion
- CRCB $1.6 billion
- CRSB $362.5 million
- Total of all measures $87.7 billion
Q and A
Q: Do you have a forecast of what each measure will cost at the end of each measure?
A: As has been seen, the impact of the pandemic on the economy and the labour market has been difficult to predict. This makes projecting the cost of these important demand driven programs challenging. It is important that the government be there for Canadians when needed through programs such as the emergency response and recovery benefits.
Prepared by
Name: Jennifer Moorehead
Title: Senior Director, Planning and Expenditure Management
Phone number: 819-654-6402
Key contact
Name: Jason Won
Title: Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Phone number: 819-654-6583
Name: Jennifer McMurtry
Title: Director General, FMAS, CFOB
Phone number: 819-654-6580
Approved by
Name: Mark Perlman
Title: Chief Financial Officer
Phone number: 819-654-6634
Date
Date approved in ADM: March 5, 2021
4. Parliamentary background and analysis
Full title: Parliamentary Background and Analysis - Appearance by the Honourable Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion - Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) - Main Estimates 2021 to 2022 and Supplementary Estimates (C) 2020 to 2021 - Thursday, March 11, 2021 | 3:30 to 4:30
1. Background
The Supplementary Estimates (C) and the Main Estimates 2021 to 2022 were tabled in the House of Commons in February 2021. You are invited to appear before HUMA on March 11, for one hour. The following senior officials from ESDC will be supporting you, as required, during the meeting.
- Graham Flack, Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development
- Catherine Adam, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Service Policy Branch
- Cliff C. Groen, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Benefits and Integrated Services Branch, Service Canada
- Janet Goulding, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Income Security and Social Development Branch
- Benoit Long, Chief Transformation Officer, Service Canada
- Mark Perlman, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Deputy Minister
Your colleague, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development will appear in the 2nd hour on both the Main Estimates and the Supplementary Estimates on March 11. The Minister of Seniors may appear later in March.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for Committee Members to discuss what the Government accomplished since the pandemic began. It is anticipated that a wide variety of issues will be raised; including, the repayment of the Canada Employment Recovery Benefit (CERB), the new Canada Recovery Benefits (CRB) and Employment Insurance (EI) reform. As the summer months approach, MPs could also discuss youth employment and the Canada Summer Jobs Program as well as the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to help support the agricultural sector.
On December 11, 2020, when you last appeared before the Committee, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) focussed many of their questions on the repayment of benefits such as CERB; whereas, the New Democratic Party (NDP) focussed on Canada's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Personal Support Worker Training in Long-Term and Home Care. MP Leah Gazan might ask you to provide additional information on these 2 topics.
2. Committee proceedings
You will be provided with 5 minutes for your opening remarks.
HUMA is composed of 12 MPs. Two new members have joined the Committee in recent weeks. They are Manitoba MP Raquel Dancho CPC, who is also the new Shadow Minister for Future Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, and Saskatchewan MP Corey Tochor (CPC), who is also the new Shadow Minister for Families, Children and Social Development. The Chair is Liberal MP Sean Casey and the 2 Vice-Chairs are CPC MP Raquel Dancho and Bloc Québécois (BQ) MP Louise Chabot. Ms. Chabot is the Employment Critic.
Other members are:
- Han Dong, Liberal (Lib)
- Rosemarie Falk (CPC)
- Leah Gazan (NDP)
- Wayne Long (Lib)
- Corey Tochor (CPC)
- Ryan Turnbull (Lib)
- Adam Vaughan (Lib)
- Brad Vis (CPC)
- Kate Young (Lib)
HUMA has agreed that questioning of witnesses will be allocated as follows:
The first round of questioning:
- 6 minutes for the Conservative Party
- 6 minutes for the Liberal Party
- 6 minutes for the Bloc Quebecois
- 6 minutes for the New Democratic Party
For the second and subsequent rounds of questioning:
- 5 minutes for the Conservative Party
- 5 minutes for the Liberal Party
- 2.5 minutes for the Bloc Quebecois
- 2.5 minutes for the New Democratic Party
- 5 minutes for the Conservative Party
- 5 minutes for the Liberal Party
3. Parliamentary analysis
In addition to issues specific to the Estimates documents, you might receive questions from opposition party members related to the following ESDC issues:
Employment Insurance
The topic of EI could dominate on March 11. On February 18, HUMA began a Study of the Review of the EI Program and heard from ESDC senior officials. MP Louise Chabot pressed ESDC officials to provide an overview of the changes considered by your Department and might ask for your recommendations. MP Leah Gazan was focussed on EI for the self-employed, temporary foreign workers and those in the gig economy and could follow up on these specific issues. A variety of related topics also included:
- extending CRBs, statistics on number of Canadians who have requested the benefits and the cost of the overall benefits
- bridging the gap between EI sickness and long-term disability, such as the CPP disability
- reforming all aspects of the Program: eligibility criteria and periods, benefit rates, etc.
- details on the EI seasonal pilot project (or "trou noir")
- reviewing the EI zones led by the EI commission.
Of note, ESDC officials provided an overview of Government of Canada's legacy systems that support the delivery of our key income support programs, including the EI system which is nearly 50 years old. This statement was of concern to the Committee. In recent years, the Auditor General of Canada also reported that chronic underinvestment in information technology (IT) has put ESDC in a situation where the systems could fail and affect the ongoing delivery of critical programs and services to Canadians. MPs might inquire about the legacy systems and what is being done to modernize them and ensure they remain safe and efficient in the delivery of these benefits. The Supplementary Estimates (C) includes $11 million in funding for the Stabilization of IT in Support of Program Delivery and $6.7 million in funding for Benefits Delivery Modernization.
There is a possibility that the Committee may wish to discuss Bill C-24 introduced on February 25. In general, all parties favour extending the CRBs (through Regulations). In particular, the BQ has been advocating for the Government to increase the maximum number of weeks available to workers through EI regular benefits. This line of questioning could lead to a wider discussion on what could be added to the Bill.
On the portion of the Bill regarding travel, opposition parties will likely agree that travellers returning to Canada should be ineligible to receive support from any of the CRBs for the period of their mandatory quarantine or isolation. However, MPs might turn their attention to unforeseen consequences of other new rules obliging international air travellers to quarantine in hotels upon arrival in Canada. The plan is facing criticism and the issue was discussed during Question Period.
Canadians with disabilities: providing support to the most vulnerable
ESDC has played a significant role in developing innovative measures to financially assist Canadians during the pandemic. In general, these measures received support from opposition parties. At the November 4 meeting, BQ MP Louise Chabot asked if the Government is planning to provide additional help to Canadians with disabilities. You answered that a decision had not been made and that discussions were ongoing. In light of the anticipated federal Budget and the supplementary commitment included in your mandate letter to bring forward a Disability Inclusion Action Plan, you might receive questions on this topic.
NDP MP Leah Gazan may also used the opportunity to ask you about committing to a guaranteed basic income as a means to help vulnerable Canadians out of poverty. This issue is of great interest to the NDP.
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