Thank you.
Good afternoon. I'm an executive director with the labour program at Employment and Social Development. I'm joined today by Charles Philippe Rochon, a senior adviser in the labour program.
Today we're here to talk to you about division 29, an amendment to the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, DESDA, to authorize the Minister of Labour to collect and use a person's social insurance number to verify their identity in the administration and enforcement of the act for any program activity for which the minister is responsible.
The purpose of the amendment is to support the modernization of services to Canadians delivered by the labour program, with a particular focus on improving the digital capacity. This now includes implementing new systems that we're currently working on that allow federally regulated employers and employees to file reports and complaints of a protected and electronic nature. The submission of these files has to occur behind a protected environment; for example, a My Service Canada account, which uses the social insurance number as a mandatory identifier to register and use the platform.
The SIN would also be used, for example, to identify correctly employees who are entitled to unpaid wages or particular benefits.
Finally, this measure would shift us from current paper-based processes, which can be time-consuming, to a more robust system based on modern technology.
Although the amendment will come into force upon royal assent, the labour program will develop protocols and update and create privacy impact assessments to ensure that the privacy of these individuals is safe and secure and that the collection and use of SIN under any new authority.... The conditions and safeguards on the use of the personal information are found in the Employment and Social Development Act as well as the Privacy Act.
Thank you. I'm happy to take any questions.