HUMA Committee Report

        Between 21 February 2001 and 21 March 2001, the Committee held extensive hearings on Bill C-2, An Act to Amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations. During this period, more than 80 witnesses representing a variety of interests from across the country expressed their views on the bill and many other matters pertaining to employment insurance (EI). The Committee’s report on Bill C-2 necessarily excluded a fuller discussion of EI, as many of the issues addressed during our examination of the bill fell outside the scope of the proposed legislation. Procedurally, a committee’s report on a bill is confined to the clauses contained in the bill and the committee is not authorized to amend the bill in such a way as to increase government expenditures.

        During our hearings we witnessed the usual dichotomy of views concerning this very important program; business representatives were generally supportive of a lower cost program based more on insurance principles, while workers’ representatives and advocates for the unemployed sought a more generous and inclusive program based on social insurance principles. All of these witnesses agreed that EI funds should be dedicated exclusively to EI. The Committee also heard from several experts whose views on specific program features and their impact on the labour market also varied, particularly in terms of the proposal to eliminate experience-rated benefits.

        Prior to commencing its hearings on Bill C-2, the Committee did not anticipate preparing this supplementary report on EI. However, once our hearings began we quickly realized that many Canadians held views on EI that went well beyond the scope of the legislative proposals contained in Bill C-2. As all members of the Committee regard this testimony to be very important, the Committee agreed unanimously, on 27 March 2001, to adopt the motion “that the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities report to the House of Commons other recommendations related to the Employment Insurance Act and that this report be tabled in the House of Commons no later than June1, 2001.” In so doing, we acknowledge that the witnesses who ultimately appeared before us on Bill C-2 may not reflect all of the views held by Canadians regarding further changes to the EI program.

        Our report begins with a brief description of the 1996 reform. This is followed by several sections dealing with key concerns raised in our hearings including, among others, the qualification requirement, benefit entitlement, the divisor rule, EI training, the EI Account and a number of administrative matters.