Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for raising this important question.
I want to begin by assuring all members of the House that our government is determined to provide Canadians with the help that they need and deserve. This determination is reflected in the service standards that have been set out for retirement pensions and employment insurance benefits, and in the measures we are taking to improve service delivery. Service standards have allowed us to evaluate the way in which Service Canada does its work, and are essential to offering Canadians the best possible service. For example, in the case of Canada pension plan and old age security benefits, the goal is to issue payments to eligible seniors during their first month of eligibility in 90% of cases. To date, the department is in fact achieving this goal.
In terms of how quickly employment insurance benefits are paid, the Service Canada standard is to issue the first payment or a notice of non-payment in the 28 days after a claim is made, with an annual objective of achieving this standard 80% of the time. My colleague, I hope, will be pleased to learn that in 2016-17 Service Canada exceeded this objective, with an annual result exceeding 83%. Also, for this fiscal year, the result as of September 30 was 82.5%, again surpassing our annual objective.
That said, some claims take more time to process than others for various reasons. For some claims, the department may not have received all the necessary information or it may be necessary to validate the information on some claims to verify eligibility for benefits. In such cases, the department tries to issue the benefits to clients as quickly as possible, while ensuring that all the necessary information is available and has been examined in order to make the right decision.
In addition to the complexity of claims, volume is another factor that affects the department's ability to meet service standards. Depending on labour market conditions and other factors, the volume of benefit claims can vary significantly during the year. These variations can change claim-processing speed from one week to the next. However, I wish to assure my colleague that Service Canada keeps close track of the variations in claim volume and makes adjustments quickly.
The department allocates resources where they are needed so that Canadians receive their services and benefits in a timely manner. We know that millions of Canadians count on the Government of Canada to gain access to the services they are entitled to. We also know that they expect their government to offer fast, high-quality service, whether online, over the phone, or in person. That is why in budget 2017 we announced an investment of $12.1 million to develop modern approaches to service delivery for the fiscal year 2017-18.
Employment insurance will be the first program targeted for this modernization initiative. Thanks to this initiative, Canadians will have easier access to services and benefits, and it will allow us to process claims more quickly and efficiently. Once it is complete, the benefits delivery modernization project will offer Canadians an improved, consistent, and modern client experience for all programs: employment insurance, Canada pension plan, and old age security.
As members can see, in addition to existing service and processing standards, our government is taking targeted measures to improve the quality of services offered to all Canadians. The needs of Canadians are our first priority, and we will continue to ensure that they get the services that they deserve and are entitled to.