Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise to speak on the motion brought forward by the member for Banff—Airdrie. I want to begin by commending him for his advocacy and his dedication to this important issue, and I know it comes from a place of great sincerity.
The death of any child is a tragedy. As any parent would say, it is something that is almost literally unthinkable, not because it never happens, but rather because the mere process of thinking about losing one's child is simply too upsetting for words. Somehow this becomes even more true when it comes to losing a child suddenly, as is the case with sudden infant death syndrome. Not only is there the unimaginable grief that any parent would feel after losing a child, but there is also the shock of the abruptness, the suddenness of it all, the shock from one's entire world being turned upside down in an instant.
All of us have heard the terrifying stories from parents who have had to experience such pain first-hand. I was listening very carefully to the member for Flamborough—Glanbrook just now and I was touched by his words. My heart goes out to him and his community, and to every family touched by this very tragic syndrome.
This is what makes a motion like Motion No. 110 so important. It shines a light on an issue that too often does not get enough attention. Our society does not handle grieving very well. Grief, yes, because tears and raw emotion make for affecting pictures and memorable headlines, but actual grieving, the personal way people handle loss over the longer term, is something that usually takes place hidden away in the shadows. It is not something that gets brought out into the open very often.
In its own way, Motion No. 110 confronts this tendency head-on. It does so by asking us to think about how we support parents who have lost an infant child, particularly when they have lost a child to sudden or unexpected causes. It is not a comfortable conversation to have by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a necessary one. That is why, with a few very minor amendments I hope the member opposite will have no problem supporting—and I will get to those in a few moments—our government will be indeed be supporting Motion No. 110.
Our government supports this motion because it aligns with what our government has done since taking office, and that is engaging and consulting with Canadians to make sure we have an employment insurance system that is flexible and responsive enough to be there for them when they need it most. Again I want to commend the sponsoring member for having this discussion, because it has brought to light the importance of this issue and is a way in which we can collaborate. If only we had more occasions when we could co-operate in a bipartisan fashion; not only would we get more done in this chamber, but I think Canadians would applaud all around.
This is what has driven us to create a new El caregiver benefit to allow people to care for loved ones during times of suffering for up to 15 weeks. It is why we replaced the parents of critically ill children benefit with a new and enhanced employment insurance family caregiver benefit for children that expands the eligible support network to include all family members, rather than just parents.
We have made it easier to access caregiver benefits by allowing nurse practitioners, rather than just medical doctors, to sign medical certificates, which simplifies and expedites the application process.
We have enhanced bereavement leave in the Canada Labour Code, which will allow employees in federally regulated sectors to take bereavement leave of up to five days, rather than just three days, following the death of an immediately family member.
We also introduced new family responsibility leave that will allow employees to take up to three days of additional unpaid leave to address family responsibilities without fear of losing their jobs.
In budget 2018, we extended the working while on claim EI provisions to include maternity and sickness benefits, which will give mothers and those dealing with an illness or injury the flexibility to plan their return to work while also keeping more of their EI benefits.
Most recently, just a few weeks ago, we introduced the new Canada benefit for parents of young victims of crime, which will replace the existing income supports for parents of missing and murdered children with a system that is more flexible, more generous, and more accessible.
With each of these changes, we wanted to make it easier for Canadians to balance family life with work responsibilities. None of these new or enhanced programs, of course, could even begin to help parents fully process the loss of a child, but in some way, they could help parents begin the healing process.
I will also note that these changes were introduced following consultations with Canadians, with employers and employees, to make sure that all involved had their voices heard. That is why our government supports this motion. By talking about these issues and hearing from the people affected by them, we can ensure that the government programs and services currently in place are flexible enough to meet the needs of Canadians when they need them most.
I want to commend the member for Banff—Airdrie for his tireless advocacy, on behalf of grieving parents, in support of this motion. As I noted earlier, while we fully support this motion's intent, we are hoping that the member will be open to making two small changes to his motion that would acknowledge the spirit of committee independence and ensure that, in its study, the standing committee is open to studying the full range of benefits and services available to help grieving parents.
Therefore, I move:
That Private Member's Motion M-110 be amended by: (a) replacing the words “instructed to undertake a study” with the words “requested to undertake a study”; and (b) replacing the words “particularly from Employment Insurance Parental Benefits” with the words “including Employment Insurance Parental Benefits”.