Thank you very much. Thanks for that question.
Certainly we are preparing ourselves for a high volume of applications, should it be necessary to process a high volume of applications.
The CRA is used to dealing with high volumes. During the tax filing season, we see millions of returns. During the last two or three days, we can typically receive six million tax returns. That kind of high volume is something we are used to.
We've set up the application system to be automated, so you can apply through My Account, through the portals. You can also apply through an automated phone service by putting in your social insurance number and a bit of information. You can apply that way. In that sense, we're going to be able to deal with a high volume. We've also put in place additional call agents to be able to deal with phone calls if people have any questions.
The good thing is that we're also partnering with Service Canada so that both systems are in place. Generally speaking, the people who are EI-eligible will tend to go to Service Canada to apply there for the CERB, while people who are not EI-eligible—mainly the self-employed, contract workers, gig economy workers and perhaps those who don't have a strong attachment to the labour force—would come over to the Canada Revenue Agency for their applications. In that way we will be spreading the load.
With respect to the wage subsidy, it's certainly welcome. We'll be administering that as well. We expect, of course, that the wage subsidy will result in more people returning to work more quickly, as well as receiving wages from their employers even if they're not working. In that sense, the workload we would have from the CERB would be reduced.