Human Resources committee  The law, as it is applied now, says that if people qualify for benefits, they will be able to get their benefits for the period for which they qualify. If they are not in remand and they lose their jobs and are looking for work, they will be able to qualify for EI. Clearly, if they are in remand, for the period they are in remand they will not be able to collect benefits, because they will not, obviously, be working.

Human Resources committee  They will have their period extended, yes, if found not guilty.

Human Resources committee  Let me say this again. The EI program has a rather restricted mandate. It provides income support for finding a job and for other circumstances as well. The eligibility criteria are quite strict. I think that the qualifying and benefit periods can only be extended under very special circumstances.

Human Resources committee  First of all, I would say that most Canadians don't receive any extension to their benefit period or their qualifying period. They have to have been working during the 52-week qualifying period to be able to qualify for EI, and they have to meet the eligibility criteria. In terms of how we will apply it when it comes into force, it will apply to all those who are establishing a new benefit period.

Human Resources committee  Yes, I did mention that these extensions are limited to a number of circumstances. By default, the benefit period is 52 weeks and the qualifying period is also 52 weeks. I did mention when I was doing my introductory remarks that people who are incapable of work because of illness and during pregnancy can receive the extension.

Human Resources committee  No, I don't know why the system was implemented.

Human Resources committee  I am not here to give you my opinion on whether that is fair or not. I am here to answer your technical questions on what the bill seeks to accomplish and on what the EI program does.

Human Resources committee  Could you repeat the question, please?

Human Resources committee  As I explained, Bill C-316 seeks to... At the moment, the measures under the Employment Insurance Act provide for very limited circumstances in which the benefit and qualifying periods can be extended. The extensions are for people who cannot have access to the benefits or who cannot work and stay on the labour market.

Human Resources committee  It means that they will no longer have access to EI benefits. The impact on the provinces might actually be minimal, depending on whether those people get social assistance or not. That's one of the potential consequences. In broad terms, we must also remember that the federal government transfers a certain amount of money to provincial governments through labour market agreements in order to assist with the training of individuals who qualify or not for employment insurance.

Human Resources committee  The government actually wants to make sure the act is amended so that it applies to all Canadians consistently.

Human Resources committee  Those who have already established the benefit period before the coming into force will not be impacted because it will all be taken into account. It would be established for all the new people who will have a new benefit period.

Human Resources committee  Following the coming into force.

Human Resources committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and distinguished members of this committee. It is a pleasure to be here today to speak to you about Private Member's Bill C-316, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (incarceration), sponsored by Mr. Richard Harris, MP, and to provide you with information on the proposed amendments that the government plans to table at the clause-by-clause analysis.

Human Resources committee  One type of work we can mention that we tried to make some progress on to reduce red tape would be the work we do around the grants and contributions modernization that is going on. Basically, we tried to simplify the application and have an online application for the future, and also we've reviewed what would be the requirement in terms of reporting to the department for grants and contributions to be a lot more based on risk.