Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Benoit Cadieux. I am the director for employment insurance special benefits at ESDC. I am joined today by Catherine Demers, who is the director general of EI policy at ESDC. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada has int

Finance committee  Thank you.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Benoit Cadieux. I'm the director of employment insurance, special benefits, at Employment and Social Development Canada. Clause 252 authorizes the Minister of Employment and Social Development to enter into an agreement and make a one-time payme

Finance committee  The request does indeed come from Quebec. They have identified a cost of $260 million to align the Quebec parental insurance plan with the EI temporary measures. This payment provides approximately half of that with those costs.

Finance committee  Thank you, Catherine. Thank you for the question. As Catherine mentioned, it is attestation-based. A claimant would have to see a reduction in the hours that they could work for a specific week by at least 50% in order to be eligible. If they meet that requirement, in addition

Finance committee  It is entirely attestation-based.

Finance committee  Correct.

Finance committee  As we mentioned in previous questions, the Canada Revenue Agency does do post-verification audits based on—

Finance committee  We will come back with those numbers as requested earlier.

Finance committee  They have the authority to ask for proof—for example, a medical certificate—that claimants can provide, if they desire.

Finance committee  They are not.

Finance committee  There are other things that the claimant could have, such as proof that they took a test and that they were tested for COVID-19.

Finance committee  I would have to defer to colleagues from the CRA to determine how they would—

Finance committee  There is no proof that somebody would have to show that they were, indeed, sick. However, as I mentioned, the CRA does have the authority to ask for information to determine eligibility for benefits.

Finance committee  At the time of application, that's correct, but the CRA can verify and ask for additional documents afterward.