Evidence of meeting #69 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK
That'll suffice for my question. I guess there's maybe something here then.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I too would like to thank Mr. Bédard for coming out of retirement. I have lots of seniors in my community, lots of wealth and experience, and I appreciate you offering your ideas and inputs into this proposed bill before us.
I wanted to clarify a couple of your comments with regard to this being a voluntary program. In your opening comments, you said there'd be accordingly a trial period of 12 months.
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
It may be that the English translation says that. It's a probationary period, if you will. In the legislation as it is now designed, people have to wait 12 months once they sign in, but they do have to pay full premiums, by the way, for the year when they sign in.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Right, you have to pay for a year before you're eligible.
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
It's more than that. If someone decides to join into the program in December, say, then they have to pay premiums for the full year during which they join, the full calendar year. Yet they won't qualify until the next December. So they'll effectively have paid premiums for 23 months at that point. All I was suggesting here is that there could be pro-rating of the premiums for the first year.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Maybe just get the analyst...could you clarify that? I was of the understanding that you paid 12 months of premiums.... So if I started in April 2011, then by May 2012, if my wife was pregnant, she could claim maternity leave.
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
If you join in May, then yes, 12 months later your wife would qualify. However, the year in which you join, premiums will be paid for the whole year. You can check that in the legislation.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
After you've paid for 12 months of premiums, you're eligible--
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
You will pay for the full year during which you join, so back to January 1, even though you joined in May. And then the following--
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
That's a technical matter, of course, but to me it would have seemed fair to have a pro-rating, which would not be a very difficult thing to--
5 p.m.
Conservative
5 p.m.
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Hang on a second. The other one was about you. It said that in California, the comparable.... First of all, you said private schemes do have a shorter opt-in but their premiums are much higher. I was self-employed and I've checked into it. So you pay a much higher premium for that luxury of having an earlier opt-out.
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
That's right. They've gone the self-financing route, and of course their plan is considerably more generous for self-employed. It's 39 weeks of benefits, high benefit rates, and a one-week waiting period.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
And the last one was with California. Do you have any idea what the status of their program is right now?
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
It's fairly healthy. I don't have it with me, but I looked at their last forecast for their disability insurance fund, and it's in fair health.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
It's much better than the economic health of the rest of the--
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
Much better than its unemployment insurance fund, by the way.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Absolutely. This is more of a constituent comment than anything.
I'm curious. I've actually asked for this before from analysts. Does the department keep records of particular areas, constituencies, or communities? I'm from Fort McMurray, and I don't know anybody who is unemployed. Quite frankly, most of my constituents work a lot: 12-hour days, shift work. I wonder if there is any data to show the per capita contribution of certain areas, or things like that, into the EI fund?
5 p.m.
Consultant, As an Individual
I'm sure they can do this sort of analysis. I don't know just what they're doing--
