Madam Speaker, today I am rising to speak to an issue that is important to me, one that affects many Canadians and is a principal part of Canada's social safety net. I am talking about employment insurance and the special benefits for workers who have to take leave for specific events, such as an illness, a pregnancy, caring for a newborn, helping a seriously ill or injured individual, or providing end-of-life care to a family member.
Founded on compassion and fairness, this system reflects an important part of the Canadian identity, which is steeped in sharing and helping one another. The principles governing this system tie in perfectly with the values of our government.
Many Canadians across the country struggle with illness. For some, the illness lasts a week or two, but for others, it lasts several weeks and, in some cases, for months or even years.
In many cases, the sick person has to take time off work to undergo suitable treatment. In some cases, it goes even further, and the person ends up unable to work. This leads to a marked decline in income or even the loss of that income.
To remedy this situation, the employment insurance program guarantees the payment of a maximum of 15 weeks of sickness benefits to people who are unable to work.
We certainly recognize that although EI sickness benefits protect a large number of Canadians, some recipients exhaust their benefits before returning to work. I went through this myself exactly seven years ago, so I understand very well how difficult and distressing this situation can be. That is precisely why I am very proud of our government's commitment to making changes to this program.
When we are ill or injured, the last thing we want to worry about is how we will put food on the table if we cannot go to work.
Rest assured that our government is determined to improve the EI program to make it more flexible, more inclusive and easier to access. In fact, we supported Motion No. 201 concerning employment insurance sickness benefits. The motion called on the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development, and the Status of Persons with Disabilities to study this issue.
As part of this study, the committee examined the possibility of increasing the maximum number of weeks of employment insurance sickness benefits in order to support people suffering from long-term illnesses.
Our government went further than this motion called for and proposed increasing EI sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks to better support workers who need more time to recover.
This commitment is consistent with our hard work over the past four years to modernize the employment insurance system and take concrete steps to improve it for Canadians.
The Government of Canada has long recognized that Canadians who cannot work because of illness, injury or other family responsibilities face certain challenges.
In budget 2017, the Government of Canada announced support for parents and caregivers by providing benefits that would be more flexible, more inclusive, easier to access and more responsive to their unique family and work circumstances. These changes to maternity, parental and caregiver benefits came into effect on December 3, 2017. We are proud that these changes are helping Canadians, but there is always room for improvement.
In budget 2018, our government announced that the provisions of the working while on claim pilot project would be extended to EI maternity and sickness benefits. This measure was implemented to ensure that Canadians who want to return to work after an illness or the birth of a child can do so without jeopardizing their EI benefits. These changes came into effect in August 2018.
Our government recognizes that there is still work to be done to protect the most vulnerable Canadians. Health problems are stressful enough without the added burden of unnecessary financial hardship.
It is our responsibility as a government to ensure that Canadians receive the support they need when they are recovering from an illness or injury. We owe it to Canadians who have to take time off work for illness, injury or quarantine reasons to extend the EI sickness benefit.
Let me be clear. The government is determined to improve the EI system. We want to adapt it to better reflect Canadians' reality. In fact, our government has made changes to give Canadians the support they need when they are sick, injured or quarantined.
I would also like to note that there are other measures besides EI to help Canadians grappling with a chronic or long-term illness. They include disability benefits under the Canada pension plan, the benefits offered by private insurance and paid by the employer, as well as the help provided by the provinces and territories.
We care about Canadians' well-being. We will continue to work hard to support those who are suffering from a long-term illness or injury, as well as their family.
