Human Resources Committee on Nov. 25th, 2025

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

With all due respect, Minister, this isn't an entirely new program that is being developed. This is literally mirroring the maternity benefit that women who birth a child receive. Adoptive and intended parents already contribute to the EI system. They already have access to the EI parental benefit. Adding an additional 15-week category should not require months, and in this case almost years, of delay.

Minister, if this issue is not political, can you just be honest with the families who are still waiting about why they are still waiting?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I look forward to your support when we do introduce this, whether it's in a budget or another measure. I certainly hope your party will vote for it.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Wasn't it in the fall economic statement of 2024? That was a long time ago. There's been no movement on this whatsoever. I think that's absolutely unacceptable. Would you not agree that this is unacceptable?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I have made the commitment to you, I think repeatedly now, that we'll make sure your office is included in this work.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Okay. Thank you.

Minister, has ESDC completed all internal investigations into ESDC employees who fraudulently applied for CERB while fully employed?

[Paul Thompson, Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Social Development]

Yes. We have completed that one.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

It's all completed. How many ESDC employees in total were investigated for improperly receiving CERB?

[Paul Thompson]

I would have to get back to you with the total number investigated.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Please provide that information to the committee.

[Paul Thompson]

The total number that we took action against was approximately 50.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Will you provide that information to the committee?

[Paul Thompson]

Yes.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

How many were cleared, how many had security clearances revoked and how many were formally terminated?

[Paul Thompson]

Again, that information is available. I'd be happy to provide it to the committee. We took action against approximately 50 employees.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Perfect.

I have one last question. Were any cases referred to the RCMP or other law enforcement agencies for potential criminal investigation? Please provide that information to the committee.

[Paul Thompson]

We can provide that as well.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK]

Please provide also the status of those referrals, if so.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Falk.

Ms. Koutrakis, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being with us today for the full two hours. I look forward to hearing more and learning more about all the important work that is being done behind the scenes.

Thank you to the officials as well for joining us today.

Minister, in your opening remarks you mentioned the modernization of the job bank. Of course, it's part of the tariff response. How is the new system helping workers find jobs faster, and how has uptake changed among EI recipients?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you very much. That's a great question. I think it's one of the quiet successes of the action we've been taking, in particular through the result of the tariff hits that many industries are facing.

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, we've been transforming EI to rapidly respond to some of the most difficult situations and the sectors that are the hardest hit. One of the tools we've been using is making it easier to sign up for the job bank, automatically connecting people through EI to the job bank, and ensuring that people are able to utilize the tool fully. We're seeing an increase, in fact; 35% of the recipients are now using the job bank, which is huge growth from around the 10% mark prior to that.

The information they receive is useful for them in terms of looking for a skills match within their own region and for understanding what the landscape looks like in their own area. Obviously, we are also doing a ton of work with affected employees in terms of work-sharing, though. I think for us, the best solution is when employers are able to be retained by a heavily hit industry or employer. That's where work-sharing comes into play. Ultimately, being able to retain those skilled workers is what employers say they need the most. There are, unfortunately, smaller employers who may not be able to retain their workforce. In those cases, the job bank can make a big difference.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Minister, have we heard any success stories that this is actually working? Are we hearing from some of the stakeholders providing us with feedback on how this change is helping or they how foresee it helping in that regard?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Yes, both on the side of the employer and on the employee. On the employee side, in fact sometimes folks haven't known about the job bank and haven't seen the power of it. There is an opportunity to directly apply to an employer. We are actually even going further to transform the job bank so that soon employees will be able to get feedback on their application.

One of the things that many jobseekers have spoken about is they send their résumé through one of the other job search apps and they don't hear back. They don't know what has happened to their application. People are reporting they're getting a much better sense of response from employers through the job bank. And on the employer side, they're really finding it efficient to be able to use the job bank to reach the broadest set of employees who are well-trained and well-suited for their work.

There's resounding support and success, I would say. I think there's more we can do to use this digital tool that's going to bring its efficiency even higher. Again, it's a credible source of information for employees and worth promoting within each of our ridings as a tool for jobseekers.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

We often hear about youth and the issues they're going through due to unemployment. We know they've become an important driver of public policy. What processes or consultations did the government use to gather input directly from young Canadians, and how did that feedback shape the youth employment measures we see in budget 2025?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

We do a lot of consulting with youth, in fact, on many different programs, and whether it's youth employment services...there's a constant quality feedback loop. We work with a lot of partners, as you know. For example, the youth employment strategy offers training through not-for-profit partners. There are many other partners. It provides us an opportunity to not only meet and engage with youth, which the department does on a regular basis, but also get some quality feedback around what those programs have resulted in.

I was really impressed when I met with a young man just last week in Calgary, Juan Vargas, who was so thrilled to see the Youth Climate Corps in the budget. He's with an organization called the Climate Emergency Unit. He said he felt it was their direct advocacy that resulted in something they could recognize in the budget. Whether it's a program like that or whether it's Skills Link or Canada summer jobs, there's a constant feedback loop with young people about what supports they might need.

The last thing I would say is that you might remember a number of years ago we funded something called the Future Skills Centre. The Future Skills Centre is driving innovation and skills development and talent, and it regularly intersects with different youth and youth-serving organizations to make sure what employers and trainers are designing relates to what youth are saying is helpful.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Minister, we've heard a lot about the major projects and the jobs estimates. Can you give the committee a sense of how the jobs are being created and the level of investment these projects are bringing into the economy right now?