Mr. Speaker, the publicly stated promise of performance for employment insurance states that when a Canadian loses his or her job, the claim should be processed in 21 days and the first benefit cheque should arrive shortly after that.
In eastern Ontario the reality is a whole lot different. In August only 32% of claims were processed within this timeframe. Many laid off workers have to wait eight weeks or more. Callers to the information centre are advised it will take 15 days just to inform them of the status of their claims.
When will this unacceptable situation change?