Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your presentation. I was listening attentively.
I'm surprised to find out that 99% of claims are made electronically, because that doesn't correspond with what goes on in my riding.
I have three questions. I would like it if you could answer me in writing because we probably won't have the time to hear the answers.
Many rumours have been circulating since last summer about modernizing the employment insurance system. Canadians are concerned about the impact that automating the benefits claim process will have. The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development hasn't provided any specific information about the impact of its costing review strategy. Canadians have the right to be informed of changes the department wants to make to services offered to workers, particularly in this period of economic instability. Modernizing the system to make it more efficient is certainly respectable, but it must not be to the detriment of the quality of public services. How will these changes affect the quality of services offered to Canadians in person?
According to the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, it takes 100 days to process an employment insurance claim, instead of 28. There are 30,000 delayed files in Quebec alone. Service Canada has already lost control of its service offer and says that cuts of over 600 positions will have no considerable impact. Canadians will be the first victims of inappropriate budget cuts.
File reviews, which are supposed to be done within 21 days, are taking 181 days under the current system. For the control investigation service, instead of taking 21 days, it's taking 532. What will the average wait time be to process an employment insurance claim after services are centralized?
Ms. Finley, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, said that there would not be massive job cuts. It's astonishing that she doesn't consider the loss of 600 jobs…