When social workers were solicited for a response on Bill C-44, it was brought up in the sense that this was a good first step in covering, recognizing that as this bill becomes implemented there would be opportunities to have feedback to it and to recognize that different segments of society may very much benefit from an extension of these benefits to their families as well.
I think social workers wondered who would define a missing child. It's an extension to benefits of runaway children. I think this bill is trying to recognize that families are in stress, families need time to understand what's going on, families need time away from work to be able to deal with the circumstances.
I think being open to extending these benefits to other populations would be very much welcomed by social workers who deal with the front lines of this and by their families and children.