Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that my hon. colleague, the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, has spoken in the House about employment insurance sickness benefits in Canada, and it is always a pleasure to answer her question.
I am sincerely grateful for the question, because this adjournment debate gives me the chance to once more correct certain statements that have been made about the program. Speaking to the House about EI sickness benefits, she accused the government of remaining unmoved by this situation.
I suggest that we look at the actual facts. EI sickness benefits are an important support measure for Canadians who have had to leave their job due to injury or illness.
In 2016-17, the EI program received over 379,000 sickness benefit claims and paid out about $1.6 billion. Is that enough? Recent data certainly suggests that the available coverage is sufficient in the majority of cases. We observed that on average, recipients claimed only 10 weeks of benefits of the maximum entitlement of 15 weeks.
However, we are aware that some recipients need more than 15 weeks to recover before they are able to return to work. The House can rest assured that we are keeping a close eye on this situation.
I would like to remind my colleague that EI benefits are not the only support measures in place in the event of a long-term disability or illness. EI sickness benefits supplement a wide range of support measures for Canadians living with long-term sickness or disability. Other examples include benefits provided by employers as part of group insurance plans, private insurance, and long-term disability benefits available under the Canada pension plan as well as provincial and territorial programs.
Our government's priority has always been to make the El system more adaptable, fairer, more flexible, more inclusive, and more accessible. Plus, with the budget implementation bill, we are proposing to make permanent the default rule of the working while on claim pilot project.
The project helps claimants stay connected to the labour market by allowing them to earn some additional income while on claim. Those receiving maternity or sickness benefits, whose benefits are currently reduced dollar for dollar during a benefit period, would also be eligible for the program. This would also help sickness benefits claimants prepare to return to work by giving them the flexibility they need to better meet their needs.
We have also significantly improved the system by putting measures in place to better support family caregivers. The new EI benefit that we created provides up to 15 weeks of benefits to eligible caregivers to offer support to an adult family member who is critically ill or. An eligible family caregiver is a family member or anyone that the critically ill or injured party considers as a member of their family. This benefit replaces the benefit for parents of critically ill children and will continue to provide a maximum of 35 weeks of benefits.
I can assure my colleague that we will keep working at this.