Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for being with us.
Ms. MacDonald, thank you for your testimony.
While we are very pleased to have you here, allow me to remind you that it would have been timely and wise to hear from Minister Gould today. I find it absolutely unfortunate that the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party opposed a meeting with the minister to discuss an issue that is very important to EI claimants. This is all the more true because, this morning, in an article published by Mr. Bellavance in La Presse, we read that Ms. Gould announced measures, particularly with regard to identity theft. For that reason, we strongly believe that ministers must feel fully accountable for their decisions and that she would have been perfectly able to come and inform us of the situation.
Ms. MacDonald, with all due respect, I listened to you, but I do have two specific questions to ask.
First, at what point were the two ministers responsible, not the cabinet, informed of the urgency of the situation, and at what point did you inform them of these important issues?
My second question is very specific. You talk about the service standard. The current situation for claimants—it's not just a question of identity theft—with respect to processing delays for regular or special EI benefits has been ongoing since last fall. This has been going on for weeks and months. How many files are in “limbo”, as you call it, or outside the service standard?
According to our information, we're talking about tens of thousands of claimants.
So I'll repeat my two questions. First, when were the ministers responsible informed of the urgency of the processing delays for EI claimants? Second, how many files are outside the service standards?
This situation has been disparaged since last fall.