Human Resources committee  There was a pilot project that was not implemented permanently and nationally. It was referred to as the mères brimées pilot project. It was implemented in Quebec and dealt with people taking what is called a retrait préventif. The results of the pilot showed that it was somewhat

Human Resources committee  Yes, the current duration is 15 weeks, and that was established quite some time ago, but it probably continues to reflect the short-term sickness coverage provided by most employers. In that respect it is somewhat complementary to some of the other types of longer-term insurance

Human Resources committee  I hesitate to speak directly to the issue of the costs of the recommendations, without knowing more precisely which one you--

Human Resources committee  I can give you a general response on those issues. At that time, I believe the government did table a more specific response to each of their recommendations, but in terms of the cost implications of such changes, they would be quite significant in total. It would be difficult to

Human Resources committee  What I'm saying is that for the sum total of the recommendations you're talking about there, it would be difficult right here to provide you with an estimate of what those would be, but it would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars for sure.

Human Resources committee  I would take that question as a matter of future policy direction for the government and, in that respect it is probably inappropriate for me to answer. I believe the government did table a response at the time.

Human Resources committee  The issues raised in each of the three major recommendations you have raised pertain to the qualification requirements for the program, the duration of benefits available to claimants when they file, and the replacement rate or amount of their wage covered. Those are three things

Human Resources committee  Sure.

Human Resources committee  There are parameters in the EI act that are income sensitive. First of all, in terms of the contribution, the amount of insured employment you are covered for is up to $39,000. So you pay premiums on only $39,000 of your income. In terms of receiving EI, if you become unemployed

Human Resources committee  No, it's not. It doesn't vary based on the type of employment you're in.

Human Resources committee  There are probably two aspects to your question to respond to. First is the accumulation of hours for insurability, and Madam Carroll addressed that a little earlier. In 1996, there was a move to an hours-based system, so the contributions are based on the hours of work. If that'

Human Resources committee  In terms of qualifying, they accumulate qualification at the same rate. In terms of benefit payouts, however, if someone meets the qualifications for unemployment during, say, that six-month period, they would be eligible for unemployment insurance.

Human Resources committee  If a person loses their employment after generating enough hours to qualify and they meet the other conditions for applying for EI, yes, they can receive employment insurance during that period.

Human Resources committee  There's one additional thing that I should mention. As was alluded to earlier, the benefit entitlements and the qualification rates are dependent on the unemployment rate in the regions, so it tends to be responsive to areas of high unemployment.

Human Resources committee  In terms of current provisions of the Employment Insurance Act, I don't believe there would be a provision that encourages movement of unemployed workers per se. I could look into whether there have been programs in the past. I believe there was a program somewhat before my time