Public Accounts committee  The year 2021 continued until December. Starting in July 2021, the results started to get better and better.

Public Accounts committee  I will start, and then ask Mary to talk about this year. We followed the public health measures, so we didn't send people when there was a risk from a pandemic perspective. We also have to understand that bringing people into an organization that is quarantined is not a good way either.

Public Accounts committee  Some are already in Canada. There's an annual cycle of temporary foreign workers, as you know. To your questions on this issue, you have to remember that in 2020, when the pandemic arrived, it arrived quickly. Having the authority to go inspect for quarantine.... This program was not a health program.

Public Accounts committee  As I said before, and as we've said before, we are working now with the provinces. There's a report on what we have heard through engagement and consultation. We are trying to make sure that we actually have a solution to the accommodation situation. You should not forget that—it's true, but I know people don't like to hear it sometimes—it is an area of provincial responsibility.

Public Accounts committee  What you see as a challenge.... It's not necessarily that we would not agree on some key elements. That's a very fair point. What you see as an issue.... If we go to inspect, we don't have the capacity to enforce. We can tell the provinces what's going on, then they have to check if the information is true, and after that, it's going on.

Public Accounts committee  We're months away. We're aiming for the end of the year.

Public Accounts committee  When you look at what happened in 2021, it's not that there was no action. It's the time it takes to actually implement those actions. In February, as it was mentioned before, we launched a national internal quality review. We got two proposals in the budget, which were funded, to improve the capacity of the workers to work with community organizations, and also to actually have accountability and have more inspections.

Public Accounts committee  I would ask if you would allow Mary to answer. She has the details in terms of the amount of money and the number of employers.

Public Accounts committee  Mary, go ahead.

Public Accounts committee  I would add, Mr. Chair, if you will allow me, that this is not just about the inspections. It's also about making sure that the workers know what their rights are and about making sure that they have organizations they can work with. You will notice that in the 2021 budget we also got funding to actually work more with community organizations that provide services to workers as soon as they arrive at the airport, as well as in the communities.

Public Accounts committee  In 2020‑21, we had 129,000 foreign workers, and in 2021‑22, we had approximately 120,000. The number of employers across all sectors was 27,000 in 2020‑21 and around 24,000 in 2021‑22. In the farming sector, we had 5,000 employers in 2020‑21, and the number was roughly the same in 2021‑22.

Public Accounts committee  I'm going to ask Ms. Crescenzi to tell you more about the training inspectors receive. You raise a very important point. Keep in mind that, when we hire inspectors, we train them internally. During the pandemic, on one hand, we doubled the number of inspectors, but on the other, we were losing 30% of our inspectors and employees annually.

Public Accounts committee  If you would allow me, I will ask Mary to answer the question.

Public Accounts committee  Go ahead, Mary.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, I want to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to you today from the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin nation of Canada. Thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee today to discuss the Auditor General’s report. Please let me start by saying that Employment and Social Development Canada, or ESDC, understands the importance of this audit and agrees with its recommendations.