Thank you all.
I'm here today to talk about the supplementary estimates (B) for Employment and Social Development Canada, so let me jump right in.
My department is requesting a total of $411.4 million in additional authorities through these supplementary estimates. This includes $164.5 million in operating expenses, $225.7 million in grants and contributions, and $21.2 million in statutory expenditures.
I'll focus on a few of these initiatives in the interest of the committee's time.
Of course, I'll begin by talking about Canada's first-ever disability inclusion action plan, which we launched last October. The action plan is a road map to create a more inclusive Canada. It has four pillars, including financial security, employment, accessible and inclusive communities, and a modern approach to disability.
This is why we're requesting $13.6 million to implement early initiatives under the disability inclusion action plan, with $11.4 million going to the opportunities fund for persons with disabilities and $2.2 million to alternate format reading materials. This funding will help us make real progress on the objectives laid out within the disability inclusion action plan.
The temporary foreign worker program is another key area of focus for my department.
We are requesting $18.7 million to meet the growing demand for labour market impact studies. Demand is already high, and is expected to increase over the next few years. It is important that we invest now to increase our processing capacity, including hiring more staff, to ensure that employers across Canada can hire temporary foreign workers in a timely manner. The additional funding will allow Service Canada to provide employers with timely decisions in 2022‑23 and beyond.
This will complement changes begun in April 2022, including changes to labour market impact assessments, which are now valid for 18 months. That is a nine-month increase, as compared to the pre-pandemic six months. This is another measure that makes it easier for employers to get the help they need, when they need it.
We're also requesting $27.1 million to increase the reach of the temporary foreign worker program, particularly inspections. TFWs are vital to our economy. They make sure that we have healthy, locally grown produce, and they fill gaps in critical sectors like trucking and construction. They deserve to work in safe, healthy and dignified conditions.
Over the past year, we've improved inspection quality, timeliness and responsiveness. We also established a workload management strategy to reduce inspection backlogs, and we conducted outreach and engagement sessions with stakeholders. The additional funding will build upon these efforts and is part of our broader effort to rebuild the employer compliance regime.
My department is responsible for delivering a wide variety of services to Canadians, from employment insurance to LMIAs to public pensions and a huge variety of grants and contributions. We recognize that our IT systems need to be ready to get benefits to Canadians quickly and reliably. We are requesting $16.3 million through these estimates to ensure that our IT systems are able to continue delivering for Canadians when they're counting on us.
Canadians depended on us during the pandemic, so I'd like to speak about the Canada emergency response benefit integrity measures. When the pandemic hit, our government moved quickly to implement the CERB and other benefits.
In the beginning, we decided to go with an attestation-based approach. This approach was adopted by Parliament and supported by all parties. Eligibility verification is being done postpayment, and every single application has been reviewed. In cases where an individual has a balance owing, we methodically follow up in a compassionate, flexible manner. That work is ongoing, and to date we have recovered $1.3 billion.
All told, our individual COVID-19 benefit programs reached 13 million Canadians. We acted quickly to get recovery benefits into people's bank accounts without delay. Our approach kept workers connected to their jobs and positioned the economy to come roaring back.
To recover funds from individuals who have a balance owing, we are requesting $13.4 million to re-profile lapsed 2021-22 funding into 2022-23. This will help fund ongoing reviews to identify and address cases of error and misrepresentation with respect to COVID-related emergency benefits.
In closing, these and all the additional funds we're requesting are focused on helping Canadians and supporting our shared economic prosperity.
Thank you for this opportunity. I'm happy to take your questions.
