Mr. Speaker, the government is very concerned about all issues involving persons with disabilities. We are equally concerned about client service because timely service is one of the fundamental responsibilities of Human Resources Development Canada.
With regard to the length of time to process CPP disability applications, it is important to point out that over the last decade there has been a dramatic increase in the number of applications. This rise was due to a number of factors, including changes in eligibility rules, referral of cases to us by private insurance companies, as well as some provincial social service departments.
This put a tremendous strain on departmental resources as well as on the CPP review tribunal and the pensions appeals board.
In his 1996 report the auditor general raised concerns about the rapid increase in CPP disability expenditures. As a result, changes to the administration of disability benefits were introduced to ensure that the benefits were granted only to those for whom they were originally intended.
Let me be clear. We are attacking the problem. We have already taken action. We have recruited and trained new staff and we have taken staff from other areas to address the workload. We have moved the first level of appeal to regional centres. This will reduce the time required to obtain correct information from clients.
We are also working with the administration of the CPP review tribunal and the pensions appeals board to improve service. For example, we have increased the number of judges and panel members in order to enable us to hold more hearings and to use a better scheduling system.