Evidence of meeting #20 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was period.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:25 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
It's a snapshot based on one year looking at the files, and an estimate based on the review of the file.
5:25 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Since we had to do a manual review, we did it for one year to get the sense of the cost. Doing it for all the years would have been extensive work, and we didn't do it. We thought that having that one year would give us a good approximation and good estimate of the potential savings associated with these--
5:25 p.m.
NDP
5:25 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I'm not aware why they picked those specific years.
5:25 p.m.
NDP
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Have you done an assessment as to how many people have actually taken advantage of the extension of the qualifying periods across the board?
5:25 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I don't have that information here. We may have it, but I don't have it here. I don't know if that work has been done. I don't remember seeing that kind of work.
5:25 p.m.
NDP
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Would you be able to table that? And maybe you could block off any of them who may have been incarcerated.
Thank you.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Komarnicki
Could I get a sense of exactly what it is you want, just to be sure, Ms. Hughes?
5:25 p.m.
NDP
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Yes, I'm just wondering if we could get a more recent update than the ones that have been given to us, as to how many people have actually applied for the extension of the qualifying period and how many of those were actually incarcerated.
5:25 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I think we did it for one year because this was an intensive fall review. We don't have the information for all the other years. We will have it for one year, in terms of how many people. The 1,500 and the 700...it was coming for one specific year.
I don't know to what extent we have the actual information you request, which is, in total, how many claimants did benefit from the qualifying period extension for all the other reasons. I'm not sure that we have that. We can get back to you.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Komarnicki
Did you want to get at those who are incarcerated, or other categories of people?
5:25 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I think they were asking for both.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Komarnicki
Do you want to find out if it's easy to access or not? Because I'm not sure at this stage whether we want you to be getting information on all categories when we're dealing just with this category. So I think that, at most, I would say that if you can easily get that information, then I would order it so. And if not, just indicate that to this committee--
5:30 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I can do that.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Komarnicki
--before we go out on an expedition that might be beyond our clause-by-clause, which will be next week, on Wednesday. So if the information is easily available and you can get it to us, get it to us quickly, and if it's not, let us know that. Okay?
5:30 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Yes.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Komarnicki
Your time is up and it's 5:30, so we'll adjourn.
Thank you very much.
