October 10, 2014 – Gatineau, Quebec– Employment and Social Development Canada – New measures build on Helping Families in Need Act: The Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development), on behalf of the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism, today announced enhanced access to Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits for parents of critically ill children (PCIC) and claimants receiving Compassionate Care benefits (CCB) if they themselves fall ill or are injured while caring for a family member. The amendments, proposed in Economic Action Plan 2014, take effect on October 12, 2014.
Claimants in receipt of PCIC benefits and CCB will now be able to shift to EI sickness benefits and resume collecting the balance of PCIC benefits and CCB thereafter, if needed. This change builds on the flexibility offered to EI parental benefit claimants through the Helping Families in Need Act.
Quick Facts
Economic Action Plan 2014 committed $2.4 million over two years and $1.2 million per year ongoing to enhance access to EI sickness benefits for claimants who receive PCIC benefits and CCB.
Since March 24, 2013, the Helping Families in Need Act has allowed parents to suspend the payment of their EI parental benefits if they become ill or are injured, to collect EI sickness benefits, and to resume collecting the balance of their parental benefits thereafter, if needed.
These latest changes build on several existing support measures that help relieve financial pressure on families during difficult times and make a real difference when they need it most. These existing measures include:
- providing earlier access to parental benefits for foster parents who have committed to adopting a child or children in their care;
- enabling self-employed people to opt into the EI program to access maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits as well as benefits for parents of critically ill children;
- improving access to EI parental benefits for military families;
- extending eligibility for CCB to include additional family members and others considered as “family” by the person who is gravely ill;
- introducing the PCIC benefit for parents who are unable to work while providing care or support to a child under 18 years of age with a critical illness or injury;
- providing—in addition to these EI support measures—a new grant of $350 per week that may be provided for up to 35 weeks to parents of murdered or missing children (under 18 years of age) whose death or disappearance is the result of a probable Criminal Code offence; and
- providing assistance to parents through the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the Universal Child Care Benefit.
Source: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do;jsessionid=0e9a47a77229f98a245ddc05bddc988c80a6c5639d16088f3289d394933f3b3d.e38RbhaLb3qNe38Lb3v0?mthd=tp&crtr.page=1&nid=892169&crtr.tp1D=1
