Thank you for the opportunity to speak about that topic.
The C.D. Howe Institute published, through commentaries and intelligence memos, and talked about why it was really important to have that transition, or if we wanted to extend CERB, we needed to reform that program, because when CERB was created and introduced, the purpose was to keep people inside their houses. The purpose was for people to stop working, stop doing other things and stay at home to keep people safe.
However, as the economy and businesses started to reopen, there was a problem with CERB. It didn't create an incentive to look for employment, because as I mentioned, the majority of those individuals who lost their jobs and had seen a reduction in hours were mostly low-income individuals. Therefore, CERB was a program that was quite desirable for these individuals.
In receiving CERB without being required to look for employment, of course, it's going to create some challenges for businesses to find the right individuals to work for them. There was no requirement to look for employment.
If you wanted to stick to CERB, it had to be reformed. It needed to take into consideration several elements of the EI program. Of course, moving to the EI program was the better option when the government was ready to shift that big portion of individuals into the program.