Moved second reading of Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (additional regular benefits), the Canada Recovery Benefits Act (restriction on eligibility) and another Act in response to COVID-19.

Honourable senators, I’m pleased to speak as a Senate sponsor for Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (additional regular benefits), the Canada Recovery Benefits Act (restriction on eligibility) and another Act in response to COVID-19.

The bill before us today makes significant yet prudent changes to the Employment Insurance Act, the Canada Recovery Benefits Act and the Customs Act. Colleagues, I cannot stress enough the importance of the timely passage of this legislation. Bill C-24 has only 11 clauses, however, it is designed to help Canadians in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the beginning of this pandemic, the Government of Canada has had to continuously adapt its policy and legislative response to ensure Canadians have the supports they need to navigate through this challenging period, particularly from an economic perspective. This includes a suite of emergency measures such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, commonly referred to as CERB, which was introduced in March 2020 and helped more than 8 million Canadians avoid catastrophic income loss.

Last summer and fall, the government began laying out a plan to continue supporting Canada’s workforce through the ongoing pandemic. This included transitioning Canadians from the CERB to a simplified Employment Insurance program. This simplified EI program includes hours credit, which allows more Canadians to qualify. It establishes a benefit floor of $500 per week and allows Canadians to receive at least 26 weeks of benefits.

The Government of Canada also introduced a suite of recovery benefits to provide income support to workers for whom employment continues to be impacted by COVID-19. These recovery benefits include the Canada Recovery Benefit to support workers who do not qualify for EI; the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit to support workers who are sick, have underlying conditions that would make them more susceptible to COVID-19 or must self-isolate in quarantine as a result of COVID-19; and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit to support workers who have been unable to work because they need to provide care or support for a child, family member or dependant.

At the time, the government said it would monitor labour market conditions and make further adjustments as needed. Even with the stringent public health measures and the continuing rollout of vaccinations across the country — including my home province of Alberta — all of which are promising, it is critical that the Government of Canada continues to support workers and families, and ensures that benefits are being administered effectively and fairly.

The bill before us today reflects that reality. The government assessed the current labour market and it is following through on its objective of providing certainty for workers.

On March 28, many Canadians could be faced with delayed benefits if we do not take action to pass Bill C-24. The Department of Employment and Social Development Canada requires seven days to set up their system for the renewal of benefits to begin. Hence, Royal Assent is required before March 21. If passed quickly, this bill would increase the maximum number of available weeks of EI regular benefits, and Canadians will not face a gap in receiving the support they continue to need right now.

In addition to Bill C-24, the government will be making increases, through regulations, to the number of weeks available under each of the Canada recovery benefits and to secure job-protected leave under the Canada Labour Code.

As the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion announced on February 19, 2021, the government will increase the number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit from 26 to 38 weeks each, and will increase the number of weeks available through the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit from two to four weeks.

As of February 28, 2.5 million Canadians have accessed one of these three benefits. These additional weeks offer the certainty workers need in a difficult time and in an uncertain labour market. To be clear, I’ve been assured by the government that Canadians receiving recovery benefits will not see any disruption in their benefits. However, the same guarantee cannot be made with respect to Canadians on EI who face the same pending end to their benefits.

While the recovery benefits can be extended through regulations, Employment Insurance regular benefits cannot. This means that amendments to the Employment Insurance Act are required to extend the number of weeks available through EI. As such, it is up to Parliament to ensure that Canadians on EI do not face a disruption to their benefits.

Bill C-24 would amend the Employment Insurance Act so that workers would be eligible for up to a maximum of 50 weeks for claims established between September 27, 2020, and September 25, 2021. This will make it possible for millions of Canadians to continue receiving support while still having access to the essential resources and tools provided by the EI program to help them return to the labour market. Such resources include Working While on Claim, which allows workers to keep part of their EI benefits and all the earnings from their job; and the Work-Sharing program, which helps workers and employers who are facing layoffs because of a decline in production or operations. Keeping workers attached to the labour market will be essential to Canada’s successful economic recovery.

Bill C-24 also amends the Employment Insurance Act so that self-employed workers who have opted into the EI program to access special benefits would be able to use a 2020 earnings threshold of $5,000, compared to the previous threshold of $7,555. This change would be retroactive to claims established as of January 3, 2021, and would apply until September 25, 2021. Self-employed Canadians have been hit hard by the pandemic and they need this extra support.

Now, colleagues, I would like to talk about the bill’s amendment to the Canada Recovery Benefits Act, the Quarantine Act and the Customs Act.

The Government of Canada has been clear from the beginning that no one should be engaging in non-essential travel abroad during the pandemic. In January of this year, the Government of Canada became aware of reports that the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit could be accessed by travellers vacationing abroad for the quarantine period. Once made aware of this loophole, the government signalled its intent to rectify this issue.