Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. That's an excellent question. There certainly was a gender lens. I don't have all the data right in front of me to be able to answer the question and really break it down by gender. Perhaps this is something we can get back to the committee with a more

Human Resources committee  Certainly, as part of the consultations that recently concluded, this was a topic that we heard quite a bit of feedback on. Participants certainly indicated that there was a need for flexibility and the ability to combine different types of benefits together, especially when mult

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much for your question. The average number of weeks of sickness benefits paid, based on the most recent data we have, for 2020 and 2021, is nine weeks. Of all claimants who received sickness benefit, 33%, or about a third, use the maximum allowance of 15 weeks of

Human Resources committee  Thank you for your question. Initially, the commitment was to have this extension in place by summer 2022. However, due to the pandemic, temporary measures were put in place to enhance the EI program and facilitate access. These temporary measures were applied until September 20

Human Resources committee  Thank you. That's a great question. Many employers offer short- and long-term disability coverage to their employees. Approximately eight million workers in Canada are covered by such benefits, and those are the ones we know are covered and registered through the premium-reducti

Human Resources committee  That's exactly right. EI sickness benefits tend to be viewed as short-term benefits for temporary illnesses to give time to the workers to recover until they are able to get back to work, whereas there are other benefits and supports available for longer-term illnesses for worker

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. This is something that we're looking into. I would say that we don't have the data yet to really be able to say what impact long COVID has had on EI sickness benefit take-up. Certainly those who are unable to work due to long COVID could have access to

Human Resources committee  I would say that recommendations made to the minister are confidential and are a cabinet confidence. I cannot speak to what recommendations were made by the department to our minister.

Human Resources committee  As mentioned by the minister earlier in the House of Commons, this extension will come into effect by the end of 2022. An exact date will be announced later this fall.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. EI sickness benefits were never extended. They have been 15 weeks since their introduction in 1971.

Human Resources committee  That is correct.

Human Resources committee  It is expected that this extension will benefit approximately 169,000 claimants per year, who will benefit from additional weeks of sickness benefits beyond the 15 weeks that are currently available.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. As I've mentioned, the results from the EI sickness benefit evaluation that was conducted in 2019 and published in 2020 indicated that claimants were much less likely to return to work after taking more than 26 weeks of leave. That included those who

Human Resources committee  That would be a question for your colleague, the minister of ESDC.

Human Resources committee  Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Benoit Cadieux. I'm the director for employment insurance special benefits policy at Employment and Social Development Canada. Today, I'm joined by my colleague Mona Nandy, who is the director general of employment insurance pol