Hon. Karina Gould, P.C., M.P., Minister of Families, Children and Social Development: It is a wonderful question, so thank you very much for asking it. In fact, this information is generally available on the Government of Canada’s website.

We have published almost all of the bilateral agreements that we’ve signed with the provinces and territories, as well as their accompanying action plans, and it will be in the action plan where you will be able to track how many spaces each province and territory has committed to creating each year.

We did two-year action plans so that we could assess, reevaluate and pivot as needed. For example, Alberta has committed to create 10,000 spaces this calendar year, so by the end of 2022.

We will be ensuring that we’re tracking the progress in each of these agreements.

I’m speaking about Alberta because I was just there and we were talking about it so it is fresh in my mind, but that would be the case for each province and territory. They will have specific goals and objectives and targets for each year. So for example, in Ontario, they’ve committed to creating an additional 86,000 spaces over the next five years, 23,000 of those within the first two years. So each province and territory has milestones and objectives, and those are and will be — if they are not already, because they are just going through the translation process — up on the website and publicly available.

[Translation]

Hon. Karina Gould, P.C., M.P., Minister of Families, Children and Social Development: Thank you for that excellent question.

Again, it’s not necessarily my department that handles such matters, but I know that my colleague, Minister Qualtrough, is holding consultations on employment insurance with a view to making it less complicated and easier for Canadians to access.

I know that she is also working with the provinces and territories on issues pertaining to persons living with disabilities. As you mentioned, this is a complex benefits system that affects all Canadians.

With respect to artists, in particular, I know that my colleague, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, is currently working with various cultural groups to see what opportunities exist to support Canadian artists in all art forms.

We are working to support Canadian artists, because culture is very important in Canada.

Hon. Karina Gould, P.C., M.P., Minister of Families, Children and Social Development: That is an excellent question; it is one that is incredibly important.

The sad joke at Service Canada is that the Old Age Security system is almost eligible for OAS itself. There have been decades of underinvestment by successive governments, and it is extraordinarily important that we make these important investments in modernizing the system.

I can tell you that work is already under way. It is important for us to build out the system before we can put EI on it. As you mentioned, Minister Qualtrough is very much engaged in that consultation process. We have one of the most complicated employment insurance programs in the world. There is a need to modernize and streamline it while we are, at the same time, modernizing our IT systems to meet the needs and demands of citizens in the 21st century.

So work is already under way in that process. I will have to get back to you with the specific number in terms of how much of that money has already been spent, but my office can follow up with you on that question. Thank you.