Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for having me here today.
The Mouvement autonome et solidaire des sans-emploi (MASSE) is an association of groups defending the rights of the unemployed in close to 10 regions of Quebec. MASSE has been campaigning for more than 20 years for a universal and fair-access employment insurance system.
We have read Section 32 in Part 5 of Bill C‑19 and we wish to voice our concerns regarding the reform of the appeal process that may be implemented this year.
My remarks are going to be similar to those of several speakers today. I will make sure it is not repetitive, but MASSE still wishes to share a number of observations that must be considered before the bill is passed.
Let's first point out that MASSE is disappointed that the government chose to reveal its intentions regarding the new board of appeal for the first time when it introduced Bill C‑19, that is, nearly 3 years after it announced reforms. By breaking its silence in this way after so many years, not only is the government now presenting stakeholders with a fait accompli, but it's also admitting that it deprived itself of a wealth of expertise, and this will undoubtedly influence the people's confidence in the quality of administrative justice.
Given the precarious situation of unemployed individuals who wish to challenge a decision by the Employment Insurance Commission, the government must ensure that the new appeal process is simple, quick, efficient, transparent and, above all, tailored to the needs of the unemployed. However, based on the information provided in Bill C‑19, there is nothing to indicate that the new board of appeal will truly represent a step forward in terms of access to justice for the unemployed. Moreover, it hardly constitutes a solution for the problems observed on the Social Security Tribunal. On the contrary, MASSE fears that, in an effort to reform an already fragile structure from the ground up, the new board of appeal will discourage the unemployed from asserting their rights, because it reflects too little of the recommendations submitted by the various stakeholders in the working group set up in 2018, in which MASSE was an active participant.
I'd like to make a few short points about the actual content of the bill, which will resemble those already mentioned.
In its current form, the new board of appeal seriously undermines the tripartite spirit that was, you will recall, central to the boards of referees. We must remember that an appeal process better adapted to the reality of the unemployed must certainly have employee and employer representatives, along with members familiar with the regional particularities of the labour market, but it must also ensure that unemployed workers have access to in-person hearings and that it appoints enough members to meet needs within a reasonable time frame. Remember that in the board of referees days, 300 people were appointed to represent workers. I understand from earlier comments that this number would now be about 100.
We make the same comment with respect to the independence of the new board of appeal. We have good reason to call its independence into question because the deputy minister of Employment and Social Development, not the EI Commission, would be responsible for managing the board of appeal.
What we at MASSE are wondering is, why are so many powers being taken away from the EI Commission? In the new bill, the commissioners only play a symbolic role. Contrary to what one of the speakers said, we believe that, in its current form, the EI Commission will have members recommended by the chair, but they will only be able to appoint them on a part-time basis. As an independent federal institution representing the rights of employees and employers, the EI Commission should have the same central role in organizing the appeal process to ensure that it represents those who pay into the regime. It should therefore have more say in the training and appointment of board of appeal members.
The same thing goes for accountability. In this context, how does the government intend to ensure the exchange of information between the EI Commission and the body that allows these decisions to be challenged? Right now, that is a major issue. The EI Commission is unable to become associated with the decisions of the Social Security Tribunal.