Evidence of meeting #18 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cra.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Assistant Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, Information Technology, Canada Revenue Agency
To interface with EI...?
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
It's a legacy program, and those programs that haven't kept pace with CRA's computer evolution are tied to the old one. Therefore, you have to use COBOL too.
Assistant Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, Information Technology, Canada Revenue Agency
That's not necessarily so. There are various ways to interface with those types of systems. We can share files. They don't necessarily have to be processed in real time. Also, there's a possibility to create architectures that allow you to share information across different systems that are using different technologies. Thus, you're not limited to what another system may be using.
February 23rd, 2021 / 4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
It would be fair, though, to say that CRA's computer system, especially as you move to e-filing, has been upgraded substantially in the last period of time, whereas other government systems have lagged behind, and that's also putting a bit of a drag on your systems.
Assistant Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, Information Technology, Canada Revenue Agency
As with all organizations, investments are always being made to ensure that our systems remain modern and can support the functionality of our programs. On an annual basis, we're assessing those systems based on obsolescence of technology and functionality. We determine how investments are made from that, moving forward.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Thanks.
In terms of a general question for the CRA, we know this year, with the Canada child benefit, our frustrations in trying to reach as many families as possible with it. What percentage of Canadians don't file taxes who could file taxes?
Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
A large majority of Canadians do file, and—
Liberal
Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
You'd want to look at the percentage who would file who potentially would be eligible for CCB. I'll have to get the number, but I think over 95% who would file are eligible for the CCB—
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Is it safe to say that 5% are in precarious employment or low-income employment or have no income at all? For the majority caught there, it's not tax evasion. It's simply, “I didn't earn and I didn't think I needed to file”, or “I don't want to file.”
Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
I think it's a combination of factors. For example, sometimes on first nation reserves there can be lower filing rates. Sometimes in remote areas there can be lower filing rates. There's a host of explanations, not a single one.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
If we put a basic income program on the tax system and people don't file taxes, that's the very group who will be just beyond the reach of basic income.
Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefit and Service Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
Yes, certainly. If you drive something off the tax system, filing will obviously be necessary.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you, Mr. Vaughan and Mr. Vermaeten.
Ms. Chabot, we now go to you for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Bégin, in your opening statement, you said, and I quote:
The uneven impact of COVID-19 across industries, combined with relaxation of the rules for accessing the EI program, has also driven the proportion of women who receive regular benefits upward….
Can you provide us with figures to compare those who now have access to EI benefits thanks to the relaxed rules and those who receive benefits under the regular rules?
Director General, Labour Market, Education and Socio-Economic Well-Being, Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada can get back to the committee with additional information after the meeting.
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Thank you.
I won't ask your opinion on this, but everyone knows that employment is seasonal in Quebec's eastern regions, especially. Those who work in tourism, the fishery and other such sectors have been very hard hit. Workers have to deal with a so-called black hole or seasonal gap in benefits.
Have the relaxed EI rules helped the situation?
Director General, Labour Market, Education and Socio-Economic Well-Being, Statistics Canada
I don't have that information in hand, but I could certainly provide a custom tabulation of the data by industry or population group.
I can't say exactly what we will be able to put together since it will depend on the sample size for the data we have. Nevertheless, after the meeting, we'll be able to figure out the type of information we can get back to you with.
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
A comparison of the eligibility rate under the relaxed rules versus the regular rules would be particularly helpful to our study.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you, Ms. Chabot.
Ms. Gazan, you have two and a half minutes, please.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Thank you so much, Chair.
My question is for Josée Bégin.
I hope I pronounced your last name properly. I feel like I'm teaching a university class again and slaughtering names at the beginning of the course. I apologize for that.
You mentioned previously that the portion of women who receive regular benefits has gone upward from 37% in February to 48% in December. Do you expect this number to continue to rise? What, to your knowledge, will be the contributing factors? Which measures would be expected in order for this number to decrease?
Director General, Labour Market, Education and Socio-Economic Well-Being, Statistics Canada
Thank you for the question. I'm going to turn to my colleague Vincent to let him answer your question.
Director, Centre for Labour Market Information, Statistics Canada
Your question is asking me to speculate about the future, which is always treacherous. I can speak to what's been driving the balance between male and female in terms of the number of beneficiaries.
One of the big factors is the differential impact of COVID-19 by industry. If we think of industries like retail trade, accommodation and food services, a higher proportion of employment in those industries tends to be amongst women. One thing we would want to look for, as the labour market continues to evolve and recover, is the degree to which those specific industries either recover or continue to be affected by public health restrictions.
To summarize, a big factor will be the performance of specific industries where female employment tends to be higher.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Just very quickly, what is the current estimate of employed individuals who are not eligible for employment insurance, and what is the demographic makeup of women, men, 2SLGBTQQIA and BIPOC?