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Ottawa can’t keep up with benefit caller claims, according to a Blacklock’s Reporter report.
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The Department of Employment says there are so many people calling federal 1-800 lines for benefits claims that its 150 operators are overwhelmed..
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“Call volumes have skyrocketed,” said a department briefing note called 1-800-O-Canada.
“The program needs ongoing service delivery officer capacity beyond the existing base funding levels of approximately 150 officers to meet the anticipated volume demand.”
The call centres looking after claims for Employment Insurance and other benefits cost $6.9 million last year but the 2023 budget bookmarked another $17.7 million over the next five years.
The June 28 briefing note says the current budget “only covers up to 1.6 million calls a year,” but the actual volume was about one-third higher.
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“When compared to the pre-pandemic level of demand, call volume has increased by 35 percent from 1.6 million calls in 2019 compared to 2.1 million calls in 2022 and 2.2 million calls in 2023,” the note said.
“The growth in volume has begun to stabilize while remaining above two million calls annually when the program is only funded for a service delivery officer capacity of up to 1.6 million calls annually.”
In 2021 in-house research, the Employment Department said benefit applicants typically had to try to rreach call centres at least three times, and as much as 10 times, before speaking with an agent.
