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April 14, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04-27
TORONTO, ONTARIO- The Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today inaugurated the Bridgeland unit of the Ontario Region Compassionate Care Benefits Processing Centre. The Bridgeland facility processes Ontario applications for the new Employment Insurance (EI) Compassionate Care benefit.
Compassionate Care is a special benefit of Employment Insurance. It provides temporary income support for eligible workers who provide care or support for a family member who is gravely ill and dying. The program was designed to be flexible and the benefit can be shared with other EI-eligible family members.
"The Compassionate Care benefit helps to ease the stress of Canadian workers who provide care or support to a dying family member who should not have to choose between work and caring for a loved one," said Minister Volpe. "It supports the values of fairness, generosity, respect and caring articulated in the Speech from the Throne, and is supported by an overwhelming majority of Canadians."
The Bridgeland unit is one of only 3 centres in Ontario and one of the 15 centres in Canada processing applications for the Compassionate Care benefit.
The Compassionate Care benefit, which has been available since January 2004, is one of the first of its kind in the world. Eligible workers can claim up to six weeks of leave to care for a dying spouse, parent or child.
Full details of the Compassionate Care benefit are available on our Web site at www.hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca/ei
See attached backgrounder for details.
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For more information:
Stephanie Lewis
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(819) 994-2482
Media Relations
Office Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(819) 994-5559
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
THE EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COMPASSIONATE CARE BENEFIT
As of January 4, 2004, the Employment Insurance (EI) Compassionate Care Benefit is available to EI-eligible workers who must be absent from work to provide care or support to a child, parent, spouse or common-law partner who has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within six months.
To be eligible for the new benefit, workers must have worked 600 hours or - if a self-employed fisher- have earned $3,760 in fishing income.
The new benefit can be paid in relation to caring for one of the following gravely ill family members:
a spouse or common-law partner;
a parent;
the spouse or common-law partner of a parent;
a child; or
a child of the spouse or common-law partner.
As well, a Medical Certificate for Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefits from an attending doctor or, where applicable, medical practitioner is required. The certificate must indicate that the ill family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks (six months) and that the ill family member requires the care or support of one or more family members.
For Employment Insurance benefit purposes, care or support is defined as:
providing or participating in the care of the patient, or
arranging for the care of the patient by a third-party care provider, or
providing psychological or emotional support to the patient.
The Benefit can be taken by one individual or shared with other EI-eligible family members if they fit the relationship described above. For example, the six weeks can be shared between a brother and sister to care for a parent or the six weeks can be taken by one or the other-it's up to the family members to decide. Also, the Benefit can be taken at the same time or in different weeks.
A 26-week (six months) "window" in which the Benefit's six weeks can be taken is applicable. The window covers the 26-week period identified by the doctor during which there is a need for one or more family members to provide care or support to the gravely ill family member. Within those 26 weeks, the family members can decide on how, when and by whom the 6 weeks should be taken.
The new benefit is also available to EI-eligible workers if the gravely ill family member (as described above) does not live in Canada. The same eligibility rules apply.
As with other EI benefits, there is a waiting period of two weeks (over and above the Benefit's proposed six weeks). When the Benefit is shared, the first family member who applies will have to serve the waiting period. If two or more family members apply at the same time, they must decide who will serve the waiting period.
Job Protection
Part III of the Canada Labour Code, which applies to employers and employees in workplaces under federal jurisdiction, was amended so that employees are entitled to up to eight weeks of compassionate care leave and job protection starting January 4, 2004.
Federal employers may not dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or otherwise discipline an employee for taking compassionate care leave or take this into account in any decision to promote or train the employee.
An employee who takes a period of compassionate care leave must be reinstated in his or her former position, or be given a comparable position in the same location and with the same wages and benefits.
Some provincial/territorial labour codes currently provide some job protection for workers for this type of family situation.
Effects on Employers
The absence of adequate supports for work-family balance is costly to business and results in greater absences, reduced productivity and, in some cases, the loss of valuable employees. Business often bears some of the cost of employees who are trying to balance workplace/family responsibilities when caring for a gravely ill family member. The flexibility for claimants that has been incorporated in the new benefit (i.e., sharing the Benefit and working while on claim) is responsive to business and accommodates its ability to retain a skilled work force.
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