Human Resources committee  That is correct.

Human Resources committee  That is correct. They are long-tenured workers and they will reach the end of their benefit period. In all, 120,000 people will be affected in a one-year period.

Human Resources committee  That is correct. That explains why the measure will apply for more than one year. Mention is made on page one of the briefing notes that the measure will apply for approximately 20 months. It is estimated that up to 190,000 people could benefit from Bill C-50.

Human Resources committee  No. This is an estimated number for a full year. We are basing ourselves on observations made in 2006, on data compiled for 2006, taking into account the increase in the unemployment rate. We found that on annual basis—taking into account all those who begin receiving EI and those who stop receiving EI—120,000 clients meet the definition of “long-tenured worker” and will exhaust their benefits.

Human Resources committee  The measure will apply for 20 months. However, there will be a transition period because fewer and fewer people satisfy the criteria. Consequently, on an annual basis, there stands to be 70,000 more claimants than the 120,000 originally estimated.

Human Resources committee  That is what we have concluded.

Human Resources committee  No, that is not what we say in our report. We say that of all EI claimants, 30% meet the definition of “long-tenured worker”.

Human Resources committee  No.

Human Resources committee  This 30% is calculated on an annual basis, meaning that 570,000 claimants meet the definition of “long-tenured worker”. It's simpler to use the methodology. We observed that in 2006, there were approximately 1.35 million unemployed workers. If we adjust the unemployment rate which stood at 6.3% in 2006, we estimate that this rate will be 8.8% in 2009 and 2010.

Human Resources committee  They go out automatically.

Human Resources committee  No, operations did that.

Human Resources committee  There were two types of correspondence. One was sent when the measure came into force, in May. Since then, letters have been sent out automatically as soon as someone files a claim. That is standard correspondence.

Human Resources committee  I do not recall the exact number of letters that went out when the measure came into force. I just know that from the beginning until now, meaning up to October 2, around 379,000 letters have been sent out.

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  The new letters are personalized; they are part of the correspondence when someone files a claim. The procedure is the same as when we notify people that they are eligible for benefits, when they apply. We let them know that they qualify for benefits, and we tell them how many weeks they are entitled to.