Finance Committee on May 14th, 2020

[Elisha Ram]

To be fully clear, you cannot receive the Canada emergency response benefit and EI benefits in respect of the same period. In the example that the honourable member mentioned, for a person who is on an employment insurance claim, when that claim comes to an end and they're unable to work, they can apply for the CERB and they will receive the CERB for a period following that for which they received the EI benefit.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Gabriel, go ahead with your other question.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

I'm still on the same question about the vague details on the website.

From what I understand from your answer, when you talk about periods, you're referring to official CERB periods. Let's take the period from March 15 to April 11 as an example. If someone's EI benefits run out on March 16, can they apply for the CERB before April 11, or do they have to wait until April 12?

[Elisha Ram]

Unfortunately I'm not sure I fully understand the question. However, we will definitely study the transcript and get you a written response as soon as possible. I apologize.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

That's not a problem.

Do you want to ask your other question, Gabriel? We'll get a written response to that one.

Just so it's clear, as I understand Gabriel's question, Mr. Ram, if a person runs out of regular EI on March 16, would they have to wait until April 12 before they could kick into the CERB?

Go ahead, Gabriel.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'll move on to my next question.

The Bloc Québécois has asked the department to incentivize work for workers receiving the CERB or the CESB, along the lines of the EI system. Workers receiving the CERB or the CESB can earn up to $1,000. The idea is to claw back $0.50 for every additional dollar earned.

How far has the department gotten with that proposal?

[Elisha Ram]

As my colleague previously said, the CERB is a very simple program and does not feature many of the elements that we are regularly used to seeing in employment insurance. This was a conscious policy choice that the government made due to the very large number of applications that were coming in. We would not have been able to efficiently process all of those claims using the existing EI rules and regulations. This includes what I think the member referred to as working-while-on-claim provisions. These are provisions that exist in the EI system to allow people who are on a claim to earn income and not have the full benefit clawed back. These provisions do not exist under the Canada emergency response benefit. We could not efficiently introduce them and still be able to process those claims.

Under the Canada emergency response benefit, if you earn—

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Point of order, Mr. Chair.

The interpreter is saying that the sound quality still isn't good enough for interpretation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

It's not your fault, Mr. Ram. It's really tough in the interpretation booth. If you could look at the transcript and provide the clerk with some answers, we should be all right. The system works imperfectly, if I can put it that way. I have difficulty seeing all the people on my screen, for instance. Maybe I should go work on a bigger screen.

Okay, I think that's the end of the questions.

Sorry, Ms. Giles, I nearly forgot about you. Go ahead.

[Nicole Giles]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I just want to circle back to confirm that we are still awaiting the information that would be available following some of the program adjustments that have been made to the EDC new loan guarantee for SMEs. As well, we are still awaiting information to flow in from the financial institutions that EDC and BDC are partnering with to deliver these programs. As soon as that information is available, we'll make sure that it is shared with the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Okay, that relates to Mr. Cumming's question.

Go ahead, James.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Chairman, to be clear, the program was announced regionally in March and I'm looking for information up until this date, because it's been expanded now. It's the EDC loan, the BCAP loan guarantee program. What was provided for loan guarantees both in number and size in the pre-expansion, so up until now? What I'm really looking for is what the uptake is on that program, because it was supposed to be a loan guarantee program that would provide that liquidity to small and medium-sized businesses.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Ms. Giles can try to find that information and provide it to the clerk as well when it is available, and we'll see that the committee gets it.

With that, I do want to sincerely thank the witnesses. I know that these are fast-moving times and fast-moving programs and everybody is doing the best they can. On behalf of the committee, I sincerely thank you for appearing and answering our questions as best you could today. We look forward to the information that will come to the clerk and will get that out to the members of the committee.

Committee members, we will see you for two panels on Tuesday coming. For those who manage to get some time off, have a good Victoria Day weekend. That won't be a lot of people.

The meeting is adjourned.