THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Tuesday, May 2, 2023
The Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry met with videoconference this day at 6:29 p.m. [ET] to examine Bill S-236, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regulations (Prince Edward Island); and, in camera, for consideration of a draft report.
Senator Robert Black (Chair) in the chair.
[English]
The Chair: Good evening, everyone. I would like to begin by welcoming members of the committee, as well as those watching this meeting on the web. My name is Robert Black, senator from Ontario, and I am the chair of this committee.
Today, the committee is meeting on Bill S-236, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regulations (Prince Edward Island).
I’d like to start by asking the senators in the room to introduce themselves.
Senator Simons: Paula Simons, Alberta, Treaty 6 territory.
Senator Oh: Victor Oh, Ontario.
Senator C. Deacon: Colin Deacon, Nova Scotia.
Senator Cotter: Brent Cotter, senator for Saskatchewan, Treaty 6 territory and the homeland of the Métis.
Senator Petitclerc: Chantal Petitclerc, Quebec.
Senator Jaffer: Mobina Jaffer, British Columbia.
Senator Duncan: Pat Duncan from the Yukon. I am the sponsor of this bill.
The Chair: Colleagues, a reminder that should any technical challenges arise, particularly in relation to interpretation, please signal this to the chair or the clerk, and we will work to resolve the issue. If we have to suspend, we will.
Let me provide some background on this bill: This bill was originally referred to the committee on June 7. At that time, the committee heard from witnesses and reported back to the Senate with an amendment to the bill, which was adopted.
On November 3, the Senate adopted a motion that Bill S-236, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regulations (Prince Edward Island), as amended, be not read a third time, but that it be referred back to the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to hear from additional witnesses, including the Parliamentary Budget Officer concerning his office’s fiscal analysis on the bill.
Having heard from witnesses on Bill S-236, we will be proceeding with clause-by-clause consideration of the bill.
Senators, is it agreed that the committee proceed to clause-by-clause consideration of Bill S-236, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regulations (Prince Edward Island)?
Senator Duncan: Mr. Chair, respectfully, I would move that the committee report Bill S-236 to the Senate with the recommendation that the bill should not proceed further in the Senate.
The Chair: Thank you. With that motion on the floor, we can now open the floor for debate.
Who would like to start?
Senator C. Deacon: Thank you, Senator Duncan, for your recommendation. I think having a simplified report on this bill that underlines the concerns we had in terms of finding clarity from officials and others as to need and what recommendations they are receiving and implementing and what is not being implemented — I think there was a lot of confusion during the study process that we certainly felt we were at the one end of.
There is a lot of concern on my part personally that many areas of our country, particularly areas of Atlantic Canada and Prince Edward Island, have moved from a job shortage environment to a labour shortage environment.
The unemployment rate on Prince Edward Island has been dropping very quickly. They have got the highest increase in population of the country. A lot of businesses are struggling because they can’t find labour. They had the lowest unemployment in March that they have ever had in that province. If I have the data correct here, in March of this year, I think the unemployment rate was 6.6%, down from 7.3% the previous month and 8.6% a year prior. We are in a different situation.
But then you compare that situation to — you can speak to it so much better than I, Senator Duncan — areas in some of the territories, the system simply isn’t working for Canadians as it stands today.
There are so many different areas where the Employment Insurance system is not working for Canadians, and I think we should include in our report something about the urgency of having a review.
The Chair: Senator Deacon, can I just advise folks that we are talking about the motion?
Senator C. Deacon: I’ll stick to that.
The Chair: You started with that.
Senator C. Deacon: I would like to back up, Senator Duncan. I moved into the next phase. I do apologize, chair. Thank you for keeping me on track. It’s a hard job.
Senator Cotter: Thank you, Senator Duncan. I support the motion as well for some of the reasons Senator Deacon was beginning to articulate that we might address in a conversation about what a report might look like. Thank you.
Senator Simons: I want to thank Senator Duncan for her motion. I know that the issues of underlying fairness in this bill spoke very deeply to her, not just as a Canadian but as a proud representative of Yukon. I know that this has been a difficult process, and I can’t help but feel the committee was not well served by the witnesses who came before us. If we had had the complete information in a timely fashion, we would have been here sooner. I support Senator Duncan’s motion.
The Chair: Other comments?
Senator Petitclerc: I too want to express gratitude. Thank you for this recommendation, which I support. That’s all I have for now.
Senator Jaffer: Chair, I would like to put on the record that Senator Duncan took this on when one of our colleagues retired and did a good job of supporting our colleagues until it became obvious that there were challenges with this bill and with other things people have said.
I have great respect for my colleague for taking this stand. I know she will have to do a lot of explaining to people, but I support the motion and I also think that Senator Duncan has done a yeoman’s job. We thank her for that.
Senator Oh: I know this is a difficult one to make a decision on, but I support the point of Senator Duncan.
The Chair: Senator Duncan, do you wish to say anything with respect to your motion?
Senator Duncan: Thank you. I want to express my thanks to my colleagues for your support and for your hard work on this bill. It is deeply appreciated. I did speak with the original sponsor, who is aware. Thanks to the efforts of this committee, this issue has been brought to the public’s attention, and that was the intent.
Again, thank you all for your support and your work on this.
The Chair: Having heard from everyone, senators, is it agreed that the committee recommend to the Senate that they not proceed further with Bill S-236?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you. Motion carried.
Pursuant to rule 12-23(5), when a committee report recommends that the Senate not proceed further with a bill, the report must state the reasons for this. If the report is adopted, the Senate shall not proceed further with the bill.
Senators, is it agreed that we proceed in camera to discuss the committee’s report on the bill?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Carried.
We’ll break for in camera.
(The committee continued in camera.)