Human Resources committee  I can mention the fact that with the Canada Revenue Agency we know who is self-employed. That will be quite good in order to send mailings to all self-employed workers to inform them about this new programming and how they can register to have access to those benefits. As I sai

Human Resources committee  For anyone who would like to register, we will provide information so that they know they can apply as of the end of January 2010. For the transition period, we will give them until the end of March to apply, to register retroactively to the end of January 2010. We are developin

Human Resources committee  Absolutely. We've done that with CRA and we are continuing the discussions, because self-employed workers will be able to register as of January 30, 2010. We'll give them until the end of March to register, with a date when it would start in January. That also gives us time to fi

Human Resources committee  Thank you for your question. First of all, we will have developed a package of frequently asked questions, a set of questions and responses, that will be posted on the Web. Self-employed workers will be able to access that information. We will also create a client fact sheet

Human Resources committee  If I understand the question, Joanne, this has to do with cases where the agreement has been rejected.

Human Resources committee  The average processing time for applications is 24 days, as is the case for all other applications. Once the agreement has been signed, the usual process for processing applications kicks in.

Human Resources committee  With respect to the cost-shared work program, perhaps we should remind you of how the process works. When the employer and the union, in cases where employees are protected by a union, agree to submit an application, program officers have 30 days to assess the work-sharing agreem

Human Resources committee  Does that answer your question?

Human Resources committee  Certainly, and thank you for your question. We do that through a different set of actions. One is that we do have agents across the country who know their employer populations, and they do undertake to meet with employers and provide them with information. They also organize inf

Human Resources committee  Rather than looking at it in terms of fraud, I prefer to view it from the perspective that, in order to abide by the framework of the Employment Insurance program, we must ensure that individuals have worked the required number of hours and have received a certain amount in wages

Human Resources committee  Certainly. It is a whole framework of operation, but in terms of attitudes, we receive comment cards from our clients that reflect a very high level of satisfaction among our clients, in terms of services provided to assist them make their application or help them understand the

Human Resources committee  In terms of finding out about the program, we have been working very closely on this with bankruptcy trustees and worker protection groups. Bankruptcy trustee representatives, in particular, are now able to provide information to our clients as to how to access the program and le

Human Resources committee  The amount provided, on average?

Human Resources committee  Yes, the program is up and running. It is called the Wage Earner Protection Program. A centre of excellence processes all the applications under this program. When someone applies, we work with the bankruptcy trustee to have access to all the information. That enables us, in acco

Human Resources committee  On March 20 of this year, we enhanced the program by including amounts for job separation. The refunded amount can cover up to four weeks. The centre of excellence has been in operation for at least a year, but I do not remember the exact date when the program started up. I will