Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate there being no objection to allowing me to speak to this. I'm hoping to get in four questions quickly.
Repayments are a big issue in my riding of Edmonton Riverbend. Many people who lost their jobs due to COVID applied for benefits and are now facing serious repercussions. People who have been properly submitting their information on a monthly basis and providing all necessary updates are being severely punished by Service Canada's mistakes. They say 48 hours is the callback time, but honestly, these are people in their most desperate time of need. To have even 2% who weren't able to get that 48-hour callback when they reached out to their member of Parliament's office, in my opinion, is unacceptable, so I'm hoping we can reduce that to a shorter hourly period for our offices.
Many students in my riding have been asked to return their benefits, and they even received...though they followed every proper step along the way. Mr. Groen said that it takes about six weeks in many cases. Ours are at about three to four months.
For my four questions, I'll go in order and hopefully get through all of them.
How many cases is Service Canada now reviewing and currently seeking repayment from?
Ms. MacDonald might be best to answer that.