Finance committee  We are basing this on the previous 12 months or the year 2020. If they did not work, but received benefits during that period and the amounts received add up to a minimum of $5,000, they may be eligible for assistance.

Finance committee  I'm not sure if this applies to the benefit we are talking about for workers. We don't look at one month's earnings compared to another month. Perhaps that is the case for the business benefit. For workers, however, this is not the case. It's really in comparison to—

Finance committee  Oh, I see; I was talking about the workers.

Finance committee  That's correct. Income earned in 2020 is also eligible.

Finance committee  Yes, that is what the bill provides. When the proposed changes come into force, they may be retroactive to November 20. Benefits had already been extended, by regulation, from October 23 to November 20. The purpose of this bill is to extend them further, from November 20 to May 7.

Finance committee  For the Canada recovery benefit, there have been approximately 2.3 million unique applicants—Canadians—who have benefited throughout the duration of the benefit. For the Canada recovery sickness benefit, there have been about 780,000 unique applicants who have benefited. For the Canada recovery caregiving benefit, there have been almost 500,000 workers who have benefited across Canada for the duration of the benefit.

Finance committee  I can begin to respond with respect to the transition to the Canada recovery benefit. This was done at a time when we were seeing an improvement in the economy and the labour market, when employment and unemployment rates had returned to almost pre-pandemic levels and labour shortages were increasing.

Finance committee  We will take this back. Thank you. Yes, absolutely, we will take this back and see. We will take the questions back and see what can be provided to provide the details requested.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chambers, for the question, which I understand relates to the previous Canada recovery benefit. Or, is it on other benefits?

Finance committee  Okay. To be able to provide you an answer on these particular aspects of post-verification, which are not under my purview from an ESDC perspective, we would need to follow up on this, perhaps with our colleagues at CRA. This is not something that we would have under our purview.

Finance committee  Thank you. The reasons are very similar. It's really to be responsive to public health reasons that the proposed introduction of the lockdown benefit and adjustments to the sickness benefit and caregiving benefit are being put forward in this bill. It's to adjust to the situation, the uncertainty of the pandemic and the fact that there is still the possibility of public health restrictions that may impact workers for a period of time.

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. This is a question that perhaps the Canada Revenue Agency may be able to help us with, sir. I could take it back, but I'm not familiar with the details of these cases. As I've mentioned before, we have some strong measures, integrity measures, that have been added to ensure there is verification prior to issuing the payment of the benefit.

Finance committee  I cannot speak on behalf of the Canada Revenue Agency to explain how those integrity measures are applied. What I can say is that there were strengthened integrity measures put in place for the Canada recovery benefit that have been applied to the lockdown benefit. These allow for it to meet that balance between ensuring that supports are available when workers need them and, at the same time, allowing for that rigorous verification of eligibility.

Finance committee  If you don't mind, I would like to ask my colleague George Rae if he's able to support me in providing an answer on this for the Canada recovery benefit. Otherwise, we would be happy to come back with an answer on the specific number.

Finance committee  I can perhaps provide a bit more detail related to the integrity measures that are part of the proposed legislation on the Canada worker lockdown benefit. As I mentioned previously, some measures were taken in the context of the Canada recovery benefit. One in particular, the requirement to have filed taxes in the preceding year, is being repeated in this proposed bill or piece of legislation.