Public Safety committee  In the case of a match, the retention period differs for the two programs. With EI, for the purposes of retention and redemption—I'm not sure whether I'm using the right terminology—it's approximately 12 years. For OAS, it's six years. The information is highly secure. The department has a number of systems in place.

Public Safety committee  In cases under dispute, holds are often put on the destruction of information. In rare circumstances, information can be retained for extended periods, such as in court cases.

Public Safety committee  It really comes down to the risk model that was put in place. The proportion of 0.1% may seem minimal when compared with the dollar figure. Nevertheless, it's important to take into account how we estimate the overpayments. It is not just the amount that has been overpaid up to this point, but it is also the amount that would be overpaid if the beneficiary continued to receive benefits.

Public Safety committee  Not necessarily. With respect to OAS, it has to do mainly with the fact that, if the fraud isn't identified at a given point, the person could continue to receive payments for another 10, 15, or 20 years. Therefore, the overpayments could really add up. If the fraud was detected in time and at the right time, the overpayment would be minimal.

Public Safety committee  Yes, based on those criteria.

Public Safety committee  To protect privacy, we try not to have information that is not relevant to us. In the case of employment insurance, we recommend to the CBSA to limit its information collection to people aged 16 and over who have spent more than five days outside the country and those over the age of 60 who have spent more than 213 days, or about seven months, outside the country.

Public Safety committee  We collect the information and, if there is a match with the records in our database, the information—

Public Safety committee  In a case like that, the information is shared via computer systems. We will ensure that a privacy impact assessment is done, that any concerns raised by the Privacy Commissioner are taken into account, that the systems used are highly secure, that only employees dealing with the files in question have access to the information, and that staff are properly trained on how to handle the information.

Public Safety committee  It will be done electronically. An electronic platform will be set up to collect the information that meets the criteria and match it against the information in our systems.

Public Safety committee  That's a great question, given the factors you mentioned. Platforms already exist for other data-sharing arrangements, and we haven't had that kind of problem. Obviously, from a technology standpoint, we make sure we have solid processes and sound methods to test the information; we make sure we take an iterative approach and verify the information.

Public Safety committee  That is an excellent question. The important thing to point out is that this is only one of the tools we will use. All the corresponding elements that will arise are not necessarily subject to investigation because we look at other factors. At that point, if other factors show that there could be issues, investigations could be launched.

Public Safety committee  That's an excellent question. Unfortunately, I can't say that we have done the exhaustive work of using quantitative data to determine how much we will save. There can be several effects. Analytical models are only good once they have been tested. There may be more cases, and that could generate more work.

Public Safety committee  Exactly.

Public Safety committee  Thank you for the question. That is correct. For us, what is important during investigations is the level of existing risk. We build analytical models. We try to determine the sources of potential errors, which can be very legitimate. For example, someone may put down the wrong date for the end of their employment, and that makes it seem like the individual left their job after more than six months.

Public Safety committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Members of the committee, good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you this morning. My name is Elise Boisjoly, and I am the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Integration Services Branch at Employment and Social Development Canada, or ESDC.