Breast Cancer Sisters Information-ER

Well I received a reply back from the letter I wrote to the Honourable Diane Finley regarding the inadequate EI coverage for cancer patients. Here it is for all to see, and please keep writing them. Let me know in the Guestbook if you would like the email address to write to Bill James.

June 7, 2006

Dear Ms. ******:

On behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, I am pleased to respond to your electronic message of April 14, 2006, concerning Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits.

I appreciate the circumstances that prompted you to write.  Please be assured that Human Resources and Social Development Canada is committed to serving all Canadians fairly and appropriately.  For this reason, the department appreciates the views received from concerned Canadians on ways to improve the El program.

I wish to explain that the El program was originally intended solely as a means of financial support for eligible Canadian workers who were temporarily unemployed and looking for work.  Coverage was expanded in 1971 to include the payment of short-term sickness benefits to all those unable to work due to illness or injury.  EI sickness benefits are meant to compliment longer-term disability benefits available through other programs like the Canada Pension Plan.

The 15-week maximum allowable duration for EI sickness benefits was determined based on discussions with representatives of the medical profession, and on an examination of the availability of sickness benefits in the private sector and other countries.  It is important to note that the provision of sickness and disability income and related programs is provided through a mix of federal, provincial, private and non-governmental programs aimed at a balanced and responsive approach to people?s needs.

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the EI program is responsive to the needs of Canadians.  To this end, the yearly EI Monitoring and Assessment Report looks at how well various aspects of the program are serving the purpose for which they are designed, along with the overall effect on the labour market.  This report revealed that the average duration of sickness benefits drawn in 2004-2005 remained stable at 9.5 weeks, or 63 percent of the maximum entitlement, which suggests that the 15-week maximum is sufficient for the majority of claimants.  Similar findings from a recent study on sick leave were published by Statistics Canada on April 21, 2006, in Perspectives on Labour and Income, volume 7, number 4.  These findings indicated that since 1993, the average duration of long-term absences has remained at 10 weeks for personal illness or disability.

In your correspondence, you compare EI sickness benefits to EI parental benefits.  I wish to clarify that maternity, parental and sickness benefits are designed to meet different needs.  The maximum allowable benefits period is specific to each EI benefit type and is based on the assessment of that claimant type.  Maternity benefits are payable for the physical needs of the mother surrounding child birth.  Parental benefits are also distinct, as benefits are payable to biological and adoptive parents for the purpose of remaining home to take care of a newly born or adopted child.

Please be assured that the concerns you raise are important and provide valuable input in our ongoing monitoring and assessment of the effects of the EI program on Canadians.

I hope that this information is helpful.  Thank you for taking the time to write concerning this vital issue.

Yours sincerely,

Bill James
Director General
Employment Insurance Policy
Employment Programs Policy and Design
Human Resources and Social Development Canada