Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for being here, Minister.
You are responsible for Service Canada. That is an important service for Canadians. Your department issues passports, pays out employment insurance benefits and manages old age security pensions. In the first two cases, we know it's a fiasco, both for passports and for EI processing times.
I will tell you about an email I received from a mom on February 6. I want to tell you what she says, so I can ask you a question afterwards. This is one case too many.
She says that she is contacting me to ask for my help. She is a mom who, on December 16, was let go from her job. In order to take action, she immediately applied for employment insurance, since, only a few days before Christmas, she could not afford to be without an income with a family. The reason she is contacting me is that, to date, her application was still not processed and the clerk informed her that a six month delay is possible, given the increases in EI applications since the beginning of 2023.
She asks how is it that families can be left without income for six months. What happens to the bills that need to be paid, that pile up, and the stress that is created?
She states that she has already been faced with uncertainty and waiting for over five weeks. She was told that she must be patient and that she is not alone in this situation. She goes on to say that she is an understanding, respectful person, but that she now feels helpless in the face of the system that keeps telling her that delays are to be expected, without even being able to conclude her case.
She then asks me whether something can be done to speed up the process, so that families like hers do not end up in a fragile and unstable financial situation.
Minister, do you think it is normal for workers who pay into employment insurance to wait six months for a response? During that time, they have to go without groceries or struggle to pay their rent. Do you think this is normal, yes or no?