Mr. Speaker, the waiting period, which is similar to the deductible portion in private insurance, was first introduced in 1940 when the unemployment insurance legislation was first founded. Since 1971, the waiting period has been fixed at two weeks.
The two-week waiting period serves a number of purposes. Namely, it allows for the time needed to verify and establish a claim, and eliminates the administrative burden created by very short claims made by people who find a job quickly. Consequently, it ensures that EI resources are focused on persons dealing with significant gaps in employment.
In response to (a), based on the 2008 employment insurance coverage survey, approximately 140,000 individuals were entitled to EI benefits, but did not collect them for a number of reasons. They indicated that, during the reference week of the survey, they had exhausted their benefits; their benefits were temporarily interrupted; they were waiting for benefits, they had made a claim but did not receive benefits; or they were eligible but did not claim.
In response to (b), eliminating the two-week waiting period for all claimants would cost over $1 billion annually.