Mr. Speaker, my constituent, Willow, in April told me of a situation that she was faced with. It was a heartbreaking ordeal that she and her nephew, Dash, had been undergoing. Her case made national headlines. I have risen in this House to ask the minister to intervene. I have written several letters to him to that effect as well.
Willow and Dash's case exposes a gap in the legislation that could affect thousands of families across Canada. When Dash's parents both tragically passed away, his aunt Willow became his legal guardian. It was a family decision to honour Dash's family name and the history to not legally adopt him. This would have forced a change and reissuance of his birth certificate. What Willow did not realize was that by not being Dash's biological or adoptive parent, it made her ineligible for parental leave benefits.
Given Dash's difficult situation, Willow wanted to take a leave from work to give Dash the support that he needed. Like many Canadians, Willow could not afford to take unpaid leave. Therefore, she applied for parental benefits under EI, a system that she had spent 22 years paying into. Willow was denied because she is not the adoptive parent or the biological parent of her nephew. She was only the legal guardian.
After months of being denied with no effect, she came to me. Finally, after we brought this to the government, Willow's EI claim was accepted in September. Remember that she applied in April and it was finally accepted in September. At that time it was also recommended to Willow that she file a formal complaint.
Throughout this whole ordeal, Willow's focus on the broader impact of what she was doing was never lost. To quote her complaint letter, “Although I am personally relieved to finally be granted this leave, it is unacceptable that it took five months, a media campaign, and a question in the House of Commons. I am an educated person with a great deal of support and this has been draining on me financially and emotionally. The EI regulations are antiquated and discriminatory. Parental leave must be available to all new parents who qualify. It is discriminatory to state that permanent guardianship is not equivalent to other types of legal parenting. Ultimately, I have been granted parental leave which means that a precedent has now been set.”
If the government fails to change the legislation, it is continuing to discriminate against an estimated 11,000 children in B.C. alone. It is also discriminating against indigenous children who are in homes where legally recognized alternative customs and kinship care arrangements exist.
I have been in contact with the minister throughout this entire process and even outlined the legislative or regulatory approaches that could remedy these problems. However, in response to my latest letter to the minister, his policy director writes, “I am pleased to learn that there has been a resolution to Ms. Yamauchi's case with respect to her EI claim. I am also concerned with the delays experienced in her case. The department will make efforts to improve and be more responsive in the future.”
Then it goes on with a boilerplate about budget 2017 EI changes, completely ignoring what my letter was asking and what Willow's complaint is actually about, which is legislative changes.
When will the government close this unfair gap in the EI program so that families like Willow will not be hurt by it?