Response to parliamentary committees and external audits

Report 2 - The Disability Support Benefits

Summary

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities call upon the government to consider the possibility of codifying all people who receive provincial support for their disability as people with disabilities, to facilitate the payment of a future benefit for a disabled person.

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ESDC's response and corrective actions

The government welcomes and is committed to considering input from the Committee for improving outcomes for persons with disabilities, including various approaches to determining eligibility for the Canada Disability Benefit. Addressing the needs of persons with disabilities continues to be an important focus of this Government. The government response was tabled in the House of Commons on September 28, 2022.

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Report 3 - The Impacts of COVID-19 on the Well-Being of Seniors

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis of a magnitude not seen in recent history, and it has affected all Canadians in a variety of ways. However, some population groups have felt the effects more than others. Seniors in particular have experienced considerable hardship due to the pandemic and the resulting public health measures. This report addresses how the pandemic has affected the mental and overall health of seniors, challenges in long-term care, and home care and home support needs. It also covers the significant effects of social isolation due to lockdowns and the importance of increasing access to the Internet and digital literacy for seniors and fighting elder abuse. Lastly, the report touches on the financial situation of seniors and various government programs for them. The committee made a total of 17 recommendations.

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ESDC's response and corrective actions

The government response was tabled in the House of Commons on October 17, 2022. The government acknowledges the committee's recommendations and notes that many of them strengthen and complement existing measures that contribute to the healthy aging of the Canadian population.

The government provided a response to the committee's recommendations focused on 3 themes that show the government's leadership in supporting the healthy aging of Canadians:

1. Fostering the social inclusion and safety of seniors
2. Improving supportive care and services
3. Supporting the income security of seniors

Read the full response.

Report 4 - The Housing Accelerator Fund

Summary

In recent years, housing – and in particular, access to adequate and affordable housing – has been top of mind for Canadians, from low-income households to those wishing to purchase their first property. One important component of this issue is supply that targets affordability. In 2021, the federal government announced a new Housing Accelerator Fund to help municipalities accelerate the supply of additional housing units across the country. The committee made 17 recommendations.

Read the full report.

ESDC's response and corrective actions

The government response was tabled in the House of Commons on February 16, 2023. ESDC agreed with the 17 recommendations.

The government is committed to bring forward policies and programs that will significantly contribute to housing affordability in Canada in the years and decades ahead. Also, the government will continue to explore opportunities to support the development and preservation of community housing through the National Housing Strategy.

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Report 6 – Canada Emergency Response Benefit, of the 2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada

Summary

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was an important and necessary temporary emergency response to support Canadian workers, including the self-employed, who stopped working due to COVID-19. In designing the benefit, it was determined that, due to the expected volume of applications, rules that usually apply to Employment Insurance and other grant programs would result in unacceptable delays in issuing benefits to workers who urgently needed them. Therefore, the risk-based analysis was completed and the decision was made to simplify the initial application process and put a stronger focus on post-payment verification, recognizing that this approach meant that some recipients could later be found ineligible, and need to repay benefits. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts made 4 recommendations.

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ESDC's response and corrective actions

The government response was tabled in the House of Commons on June 8, 2022.

The government of Canada supports these recommendations by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The recommendations provided in the report will be taken under advisement as the government seeks to improve its programs and service delivery for Canadians.

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Report 1—Access to Benefits for Hard-to-Reach Populations

Summary

The objective of this audit was to determine whether Employment and Social Development Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency directly, or through leveraging other federal departments and other non-federal government entities, ensure that hard to reach populations are made aware of, and can access, the Canada Child Benefit, Canada Workers Benefit, Guaranteed Income Supplement, and Canada Learning Bond. The OAG made 3 recommendations to the Canada Revenue Agency and ESDC.

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ESDC's response and corrective actions

Overall, the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada have not done enough to help hard-to-reach populations connect with the benefits put in place to support low-income Canadians, including the Canada Child Benefits, the Canada Workers Benefit, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and the Canada Learning Bond. The Auditor General made 3 recommendations.

ESDC agreed with the recommendations and will work with Canada Revenue Agency to ensure alignment in the prioritization, planning and monitoring of work related to the take-up of benefits by hard-to-reach populations. The government response was presented to the House of Commons on March 31, 2023.

Read the recommendations and responses.

Report 5 – Chronic Homelessness

Summary

The objective of this audit is to determine whether ESDC and Infrastructure Canada prevented and reduced chronic homelessness through interventions that helped those at risk of or experiencing homelessness obtain housing and support needed to remain housed.

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ESDC's response and corrective actions

Overall, Infrastructure Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation did not know whether their efforts improved housing outcomes for people experiencing homelessness or chronic homelessness and for other vulnerable groups. The Auditor General made 4 recommendations addressed to Infrastructure Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The report was tabled in Parliament on November 15, 2022.

Read the recommendations and responses.

Report 10 – Specific COVID-19 Benefits

Summary

The objective of this audit was to determine the following:

• whether the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada, according to their roles and responsibilities, ensured that COVID‑19 benefit payments were accurate, paid to eligible applicants, and undertook timely procedures to recover payments made to ineligible recipients and overpayments
• whether the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada managed the COVID‑19 programs efficiently and measured their administrative effectiveness. Furthermore, the audit will examine whether programs' objectives were achieved and provided value‑for‑money outcomes

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ESDC's response and corrective actions

With its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada set an objective of helping Canadians as quickly as possible. The COVID-19 emergency programs audited achieved that objective. Financial relief was offered quickly to individuals and employers, preventing a rise in poverty, mitigating income inequalities, and helping the economy to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The Auditor General made 6 recommendations, of which 2 were directed to ESDC.  ESDC agreed to 1 recommendation and partially agreed to the other. The government response was presented to the House of Commons on March 31, 2023 .

Read the recommendations and responses.

Report 13 - Health and Safety of Agricultural Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Summary

Agricultural temporary foreign workers are an integral part of the workforce that supports Canada's food system. Since 2017, Employment and Social Development Canada has identified agricultural temporary foreign workers as highly vulnerable. Protecting those who live in group settings, which includes most agricultural temporary foreign workers, became even more important during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Inspections are the main tool that Employment and Social Development Canada uses to know whether employers are adhering to requirements to prevent the spread of COVID‑19 and providing safe conditions for agricultural temporary foreign workers.

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ESDC's response and corrective actions

The Auditor General made 6 recommendations; ESDC agreed with all of them. The Government Response was presented to the House of Commons on October 18, 2022.

Read the recommendations and responses.