FOLLOW-UP RESPONSES FROM THE APPEARANCE OF EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CANADA OFFICIALS

BEFORE

THE SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL FINANCE

ON THE CANADIAN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC (MAY 12, 2020)

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1. INCENTIVES FOR STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Forest: Could you be more specific about the incentive for students to find work outside of government agencies in private companies?

Response: The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) helps youth (aged 15 to 30) develop the skills and gain the experience they need to successfully transition into the labour market.

The Government of Canada recently announced additional funding of $153.7 million for the YESS which will target measures in high-demand sectors impacted by the Covid-19 situation, such as agriculture, technology, health and essential services, with a goal of creating 6,000 job placements. Many of these jobs will be in the private sector.

The Canada Summer Jobs program provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers, and private sector employers with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for youth.

Recently the Government of Canada announced additional temporary flexibilities for CSJ so that the program can continue to target the creation of 70,000 youth jobs despite COVID-19. In particular, private sector employees are now eligible to receive a wage subsidy of up to 100% of the provincial or territorial minimum wage—up from 50%. The Government also allows for part-time work placements as well as allowing placements to be offered beyond the summer months, until the end of February 2021.

The Student Work Placement (SWP) program works with delivery partners to create work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students with employers.

The Government of Canada has announced an additional $80M commitment to the SWP program in 2020-2021 to support up to 20,000 post-secondary students across Canada to obtain paid work experience related to their field of study. Additional work placements will be created for post-secondary students across high demand sectors like healthcare, food and agri-food, retail and e-commerce.

Employer consortia deliver the SWP program for ESDC, their role is to work with hundreds of universities and colleges and reach out to thousands of employers in their sector, especially SMEs, to help them to offer quality work placements for students of all fields of study and all levels of programs. Employers participating in the program have access to a wage subsidy to cover the costs of the student job placement, up to a maximum varying between $5,000 to $7,500 per placement.

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2. RETURNING TO WORK

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Richards: What are the eligibility requirements for returning to work? If a company opens, for instance, and reopens, and workers are worried about going back because of social distancing or whatever, because we’re still in the midst of this pandemic, are there specific stipulations to warrant them returning to work or can they stay on the benefits they’re going to get? And how will that affect their business?

Response: The Canada Emergency Response Benefit is available to those who stop working for reasons related to COVID-19, for example:

• You have lost your job; • You are in quarantine or sick due to COVID-19; • You are taking care of others because they are in quarantine or sick due to COVID-

19; and/or • You are taking care of children or other dependents because their care facility is

closed due to COVID-19. There may be other reasons related to COVID-19 beyond these examples why you may have stopped working. You cannot voluntarily quit your job. For greater clarity, an individual who is placed in quarantine or directed to self-isolate by a public health official, a medical doctor, or a nurse as a result of COVID-19 would not be considered to have stopped working voluntarily. Individuals who are concerned about the safety of their working conditions should discuss the situation with their employer.

• If you work in a federally-regulated workplace, you may wish to consult your workplace health and safety committee or health and safety representative as well as the document “Right to refuse dangerous work” at https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/health-safety/reports/right-refuse.html

• Otherwise, you may wish to consult the website for the department of labour in your province or territory for further information on your rights and the process you should follow.

• The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (https://www.ccohs.ca/) is another possible resource.

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3. OIL AND GAS SECTOR

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Dagenais: Does Canadian oil still have a future? How do we save those jobs?

Response: The Government of Canada is committed to maintaining a resilient and competitive oil and gas sector and to helping workers and employers experiencing hardship. The petroleum sector is a fundamental underpinning of the Canadian labour market and is critical to restarting and rebuilding our economy. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in significant challenges for our labour market. This has included sudden interruptions in business operations across Canada, in multiple sectors and industries, including the oil and gas sector. In response, the Government has taken significant action to ensure Canadian businesses and workers have access to the supports they need. The world will continue to rely on oil and natural gas for years to come, even as we reduce our reliance on them and increasingly adopt lower and zero-emitting energy sources. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to support these workers. Among the measures targeting the oil and gas sector, the Government has established a Business Credit Availability Program. Through this program, the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada, is providing viable energy sector companies with rapid access to the financing they need to maintain operations and keep their employees working. The Government has also announced a significant investment for orphan and inactive oil and gas wells, to sustain jobs in the energy sector while cleaning up the environment. More broadly, under Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, measures such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) are available to workers and employers across Canada in all sectors. The CEWS helps businesses keep employees on the payroll and encourages employers to re-hire workers previously laid off, and better positions businesses to bounce back following the crisis. On May 15, 2020, the Minister of Finance announced a 12-week extension to August 29, 2020, to the CEWS. This will give workers greater confidence that they will continue to get the support they need during these difficult times. The Government has also implemented temporary special Work-Sharing measures as part of the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. Work-Sharing is an adjustment program designed to help employers and employees avoid layoffs when there is a temporary reduction in the normal level of business activity that is beyond the control of the employer. Under the Work-Sharing Program, income support is provided to employees eligible for Employment Insurance benefits who agree to work a temporarily reduced work week while their employer recovers. The temporary changes include extending the maximum duration of agreements, waiving the mandatory waiting period, expanding eligibility criteria and streamlining the application process from 30 days to 10 days. These measures remain in effect until March 14, 2021.

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The Government also makes significant investments in Canada’s labour market through the approximately $3 billion in ongoing funding provided to provinces and territories (PTs) under the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) and the Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs). Through these agreements, PTs provide employment programming and services to help employers and workers to be successful in an evolving labour market. The federal Government is making additional investments of $2.7 billion ($1.8 billion for the LMDAs and $900 million for the WDAs) over six years, which started in 2017-2018. In 2020-2021, these additional investments are ramping up to $350 million under the LMDAs and $200 million under the WDAs.

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4. IMMIGRATION TO CANADA

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Dagenais: When the assistance programs end, many Canadians will find themselves unemployed. For years, Canada has looked to immigration to fill jobs in the high-tech or agricultural sectors. Will the pandemic force the country to review its policies for welcoming immigrants if we find ourselves with a surplus of unemployed Canadians?

Response: Newcomers have driven Canada’s past success, they’re supporting us through the pandemic right now, and we expect they will play a critical part in Canada’s recovery. Planning for immigration levels is an annual process. Levels are communicated through a multi-year immigration levels plan (over three years), which includes projections for the number of temporary and permanent residents-including arrivals via economic streams- that will be admitted to Canada for the next calendar year, and notional projections for the subsequent years. The 2020-2022 immigration levels plan was tabled in Parliament on March 12, 2020. This is in accordance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which requires the levels plan be tabled in Parliament each year. Planning for the 2021-2023 immigration levels plan has begun and consideration will be given to the evolving situation and the potential impacts of the pandemic on immigration levels. The planning process will include robust consultations with key partners and stakeholders across the country, including provinces and territories. Planning considers the operational capacity to deliver levels, absorptive capacity of partners, stakeholders and communities to settle and integrate newcomers, economic and demographic evidence, and overarching government priorities.

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5. GUARANTEED LIVABLE INCOME

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Duncan: I’m asking, as I’ve asked earlier, whether there is a working group, at the officials level or at the ministerial level, looking into the basic guaranteed liveable income programming going forward?

Response:

As part of the Government of Canada’s efforts to ensure that all Canadians have a real and fair opportunity to succeed, it continually undertakes a wide range of research and analysis, as well as conceptual consideration of a range of policies and programs that could positively impact Canada’s economy and society.

The Government of Canada already has programs with many of the features of a basic income, such as the Canada Child Benefit for families with children, the Old Age Security program and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors. In addition, existing programs such as the Canada Workers Benefit and Employment Insurance provide income supports for low-income individuals with labour market attachment or those with insurable employment.

It is important to acknowledge that income security is a shared jurisdiction across different levels of government and that the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of working with provincial and territorial counterparts to find solutions to common challenges.

The Government is aware of views regarding the existing Employment Insurance benefits and leave system and that the changing nature of work presents challenges in providing support to all Canadians in their unique circumstances.

In response to COVID-19, the Government of Canada is continuing to explore a variety of potential shorter and longer-term policy responses that could address the ongoing needs of Canadians.

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6. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITES

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Loffreda: Has the CERB acted as a disincentive for people seeking employment? Do you have any statistics or has there been any discussion around that that you can share with Canadians and the concerned business community? What mechanisms are being used to monitor and ensure that the CERB recipients are accepting reasonable employment opportunities, especially when offered by their previous employers?

Response: The CERB was launched to address the historically high number of Canadians who are unable to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CERB is available to workers who stop working for reasons related to COVID-19, however, workers that quit their job are not eligible. Individuals are required to pay back the CERB if they no longer meet the eligibility requirements for the benefit eligibility period in question. For example, if a worker is rehired and receives over $1,000 in employment income within the four-week benefit period of their claim so that they no longer meet the eligibility requirements, they are required to pay the benefit back. As per our regular processes, it is intended that clients who are found to have made fraudulent claims will be required to repay the amount distributed by the Government of Canada and may face other consequences, up to and including prosecution for the most grievous cases of fraud. The Government has introduced other measures, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Business Account, to support employers and help them re-hire or retain their workers. The Government is continuing to explore ways to support Canadian workers and employers in these challenging and unprecedented times.

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7. CANADA EMERGENCY RESPONSE BENEFIT

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Pate: I’d like to ask what you’re looking at in particular for Indigenous communities, particularly those who have not been eligible thus far, and what do you know about the other groups? Could you explain to us, please, which are some of the groups that you know are not being served by CERB?

Response: ESDC/Service Canada Initiatives to Support Indigenous Access to CERB ESDC has worked closely with Indigenous Services Canada and Canada Revenue Agency to ensure that issues regarding CERB implementation are addressed and that available information (especially about eligibility) about the Benefit is accurate and accessible. This work includes the development of Indigenous-focused communication products and outreach materials for regional distribution. Service Canada launched an Outreach Support Centre on April 2, 2020, toll-free service for Indigenous communities and vulnerable clients, such as seniors and persons with disabilities, facing barriers to accessing ESDC’s programs and benefits. This Centre has been designed to ensure continuity of service when face-to-face interaction is not possible and to facilitate access to information regarding the broad suite of supports available across federal departments. Other Measures to Support Indigenous People Other COVID-19 supports offered through Indigenous Services Canada On March 18, 2020, the Government of Canada announced the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. This plan includes $305 million for a new, distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. The breakdown of the $305 million is as follows across the country: $215 million for First Nations; $45 million for Inuit; $30 million for Metis; and $15 million to provide support to regional, urban and off-reserve Indigenous organizations. The Indigenous Community Support Fund is to give communities the ability to fund according to their priorities and needs. It can, for example, provide support for: increased transportation costs within and outside of communities for community members who can no longer use public transportation; goods to community members who are in preventative isolation or quarantine; support for Elders; food bank/nutritional assistance: community care packages of food, water, cleaning products, nutritional supplements; support for children: learning packages (school supplies, workbooks, educational flashcards, etc.); assistance for essential workers without childcare. For people that are not eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, or other federal benefits, the Income Assistance Program remains an option for income support.

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Supports offered through Indigenous Services Canada’s Income Assistance Program To help mitigate significant health, social, and economic challenges particularly for those members of Indigenous communities receiving Income Assistance on reserve, Indigenous Services Canada provided First Nation communities with $18.1 million in addition to their existing core funding supports in 2019-20. These resources are meant to supplement essential living expenses such as food supplies and additional household items, such as cleaning supplies. ISC is working closely with First Nation communities to identify any funding gaps or unmet needs that may exist beyond those that have been addressed by the additional $18.1 million provided in March 2020.

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8. IDENTIFYING THOSE NOT ACCESSING BENEFITS

Excerpt from the Transcript:

Senator Lankin: I’d like to know specifically who’s falling through the cracks that you’ve been able to identify, and I’d like to hear whether or not the government puts forward a program to fix that, how you’re gathering that information and how we can work together with you, with the information that we’ve been gathering across the country from Canadians who are still not getting benefit and who are in very dire straits now in states of desperation from people that we’re hearing from.

Response: The Government established the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to support workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CERB is available to workers:

• Residing in Canada, who are at least 15 years old; • Who have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19 or are eligible

for Employment Insurance regular or sickness benefits or have exhausted their Employment Insurance regular or fishing benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020;

• Who had employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application; and,

• Who have not quit their job voluntarily. The Government of Canada is continuing to take strong, immediate and effective action to support all Canadians who are impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. We are aware that not everyone is eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. To help more Canadians benefit from the CERB, the government has made changes to the eligibility rules to:

• Allow people to earn up to $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income for a period of 14 day consecutive days within the four-week benefit period while collecting the CERB;

• Extend the CERB to seasonal workers who have exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to undertake their regular seasonal work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak;

• Extend the CERB to workers who have recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job or return to work because of COVID-19;

• Allow artists to receive royalty payments for copyrighted works produced before March 1st while collecting the CERB.

The Government of Canada has also introduced measures to support students and seniors. These measures include:

• The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), which provides emergency financial relief to students and recent graduates who are unable to work, or unable to find work, due to reasons related to COVID-19.

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• A one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, with an additional $200 for seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

• An investment of $9M through the New Horizons for Seniors Program to the United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC) to address the social inclusion, wellbeing and safety needs of vulnerable seniors in communities across Canada during COVID-19.

• An investment of an additional $20 million through the New Horizons for Seniors Program to fund community-based projects that support seniors affected by the pandemic.

• A $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund to help community organizations adapt frontline services for vulnerable Canadians, including seniors, to the challenges of COVID-19. Funds are being disbursed through national intermediary partners.

• In response to increased need for the coming 2020 to 2021 school year, the maximum amount of Canada Student Grants will be doubled.The Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students will increase up to a maximum of $6,000 and the grant for part-time studies to $3,600. The Canada Student Grants for Students with Permanent Disabilities and Students with Dependants will also be doubled.

• Increase existing distinctions-based support for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation students pursuing post-secondary education by providing an additional $75.2 million in 2020-21.

On May 12, the Government announced a series of additional measures to help Canadian seniors and provide them with greater financial security in this time of crisis. The measures included a $2.5 billion investment for a one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, with an additional tax-free payment of $200 for seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Security (GIS). This measure will provide a total of $500 to low-income seniors who receive both the OAS pension and the GIS, and will help them cover increased costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the Government announced an additional $157.5 million for Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Reaching Home provides a community-based approach to deliver funding directly to municipalities and local service providers. Canada Child Benefit Supporting families and ensuring that every child gets the best possible start in life is a priority for the Government of Canada. The Government is therefore committed to giving families more money to help with the high costs of raising their children and to making a real difference in the lives of children in Canada. To this end, it introduced the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) in July 2016. Because the CCB is tax free and based on income, it provides more support to families who need help the most. The CCB helps almost 3.7 million families and about 6.5 million children, putting about $24 billion, tax free, in the hands of Canadian families each year. Close to 65 percent of families receiving the maximum CCB amounts are single-parent families, more than 90 percent of which are led by single mothers.

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The CCB has resulted in higher incomes for families with children. Couples with children saw their median child benefits increase by $1,500, and single-parent families received an extra $1,700 in 2018 compared to 2015, contributing to a positive start for Canadian children. Based on 2018 Canadian Income Survey data released on February 24, 2020, the poverty rate for children decreased to 8.2 percent in 2018 from 9 percent in 2017. Overall, there were 334,000 fewer children living in poverty in 2018 compared to 2015. The CCB is having a significant positive impact on families. To ensure that the CCB continues to help Canadian families over the long term, since July 2018, the CCB has been indexed to keep pace with the cost of living. Indexing the CCB will provide an additional $5.6 billion in support to Canadian families over the 2018–2019 to 2022–2023 period. That means Canadian families will have more money to help keep up with rising costs for things like healthy food, sports programs and music lessons. With this increase, in the 2019–2020 benefit year, the maximum annual benefit will be $6,639 per child under 6 years of age, and $5,602 per child aged 6 through 17. Families with less than $31,120 in adjusted family net income receive the maximum benefit. To provide further support for Canadian families facing hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government provided a one-time enhancement of $300 per child for families currently receiving the CCB as part of the May 2020 payment for the 2019-20 benefit year. The overall increase for families receiving the child benefit was approximately $550 on average. To ensure all eligible families receive the CCB they are entitled to, in Budget 2018 the Government provided $17.3 million over three years, starting in 2018–2019, to improve access to the CCB and other benefits, to expand outreach efforts to Indigenous communities, and to conduct pilot outreach activities for urban Indigenous communities. Goods and Services Tax (GST)/Harmonized Sales Tax Credit The Goods and Services (GST)/Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) Credit is a tax-free quarterly payment that helps individuals and families with low and modest incomes offset all or part of the GST/HST that they pay. It may also include payments from provincial and territorial programs. In 2020, payments are made in January, April, July, and October. Per year, Canadians can receive up to $443 if you are single; $580 if you are married or living common-law; and $153 for each child under the age of 19. To respond to the economic hardship experienced by Canadians due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in April, the Government provided direct financial support to low- and modest-income individuals and families through a special Goods and Services/Harmonized Sales Tax Credit top-up payment. This payment effectively doubled benefit amounts for the 2019-20 benefit year and delivered the additional support in one lump-sum payment. The average additional benefit is close to $400 for single individuals and close to $600 for couples.

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There was no need to apply for this payment. All individuals who were eligible received the payment. The Government is continuing to monitor the situation and explore ways for Canadians to get the support they need in these challenging and unprecedented times.