Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 22 | Page 14

14 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 16 - 30, 2018 guest WRITER Christopher Dyson Lawyer Dyson Law Firm [email protected] Support for families with critically ill loved ones Over 8,000 claims established in first year of new measures for caregiving benefits Today, millions of Canadians provide informal care and support for seriously ill family members. That is why in Budget 2017 the Government of Canada announced a commitment to support family caregivers with Em- ployment Insurance benefits that are more flexible, inclusive and easier to access. As part of this commitment, the Government of Canada moved forward with the following improve- ments to the Employment Insurance (EI) program in order to better sup- port workers who take time off work due to specific life events: Family caregiver benefit: Care- givers who provide care to a critically ill or injured adult family member now have access to a new family caregiver benefit for up to 15 weeks. This helps more Canadians support loved ones when they need it most. For the first time, immediate and extended fam- ily members of children who are criti- cally ill have access to the new family caregiver benefit for children that was previously available only to parents. It replaces the Parents of Critically Ill Children benefit and continues to pro- vide up to 35 weeks of benefits. Both medical doctors and nurse practitio- ners are now able to sign medical cer- tificates for family caregiving benefits, which simplifies the process. Compassionate care benefit: The compassionate care benefit con- tinues to be available to caregivers and provides up to 26 weeks of EI support to care for or support a family member at end-of-life. Maternity benefits: Eligible pregnant workers are able to receive EI maternity benefits earlier, up to 12 weeks before their due date. This increased flexibility allows pregnant workers to consider their personal, health and workplace circumstances when choosing when to begin their maternity leave. Parental benefits: Parents are able to choose the parental leave option that best meets their family’s caregiving needs: standard parental benefits (taken over 12 months) or ex- tended parental benefits (taken over 18 months). These changes apply to EI-eligi- ble workers, as well as self-employed Canadians who opt into the EI pro- gram for access to EI special benefits, and who meet minimum income and other requirements to qualify for EI special benefits. These improvements were in- formed by consultations on EI mater- nity, parental and caregiving benefits and reaffirm the Government’s com- mitment to improving the EI pro- WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM gram so that it is better aligned with the realities of today’s labour market and addresses the needs of Canadian families. ***** The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development with elders. ([email protected])