New Democrats call for improvements to EI sickness benefits

OTTAWA –Today, NDP MP Fin Donnelly (New Westminster – Coquitlam & Port Moody) will introduce a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons that would extend medical Employment Insurance benefits for those suffering from chronic or long-term illnesses.

“People should not have to worry about how they are going to pay their bills when they are fighting cancer,” said Donnelly. “They should be able to focus on recovery.”

Donnelly was moved to action after he met Natalie Thomas, a resident of Coquitlam, B.C, and heard her story. “When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my EI benefits ran out just two days after my second surgery”, said Thomas, a cancer survivor. “I support this Bill because no one should have to go through that kind of financial strain while fighting a critical illness.”

“Many people in the country are affected by this gap in the Employment Insurance Act,” said New Democrat Employment Insurance Critic Yvon Godin (Acadie-Bathurst). “No one plans to fight one day a serious illness like cancer, but it can happen to anyone. Some of these people have contributed to the plan throughout their life and they end up with a mere 15 weeks of benefits. It’s unacceptable.”

Marie-Hélène Dubé, who fought cancer three times in five years, was outraged by the injustice in this Employment Insurance Act. “15 weeks to fight cancer, that’s ridiculous!”, she said. “I have received these benefits three times and each time, I struggled to make ends meet. I even had to refuse certain treatments that I could not afford.”

Ms. Dubé, who has now collected more than 125,000 signatures on the second phase of a petition on the issue.

EI sickness benefits are paid out to a maximum of 15 weeks, whereas regular benefits can be paid up to 50 weeks. One-third of all sickness claims are now exhausted before the beneficiary returns to work, leaving many individuals with no benefits while they continue to recover. Donnelly’s bill would increase EI sickness benefits from the existing 15 weeks up to a maximum of 52.