On Tuesday, Russ attended an announcement about a proposed Employment Insurance (EI) special benefit for parents who take time off work to care for their critically ill or injured children.
Russ was moved by the announcement saying "as a parent I can only imagine how challenging such an experience would be. I am so glad that our Conservative Government has extended this benefit to help families in their times of need."
After the announcement Mr. Hiebert had the opportunity to speak with Sarj Sarai (of South Surrey), and his daughter Simran, who is a cancer survivor. Mr. Sarai had this to say after the announcement: "This is a huge announcement. It benefits families and gives peace of mind that they will still have an income coming in during a tough time. It's bad enough to be facing an illness, but this new benefit will allow the focus to be with your child. To have financial support and the means to take care of your family helps to minimize the worry. The government has helped to ease the burden of financial distractions during such a difficult time in a family's life."
Parents who must take time off work to care for a child who has a life threatening illness or injury would be able to apply for up to 35 weeks this new special benefit.
This new EI benefit is part of the Government of Canada's continued action to help parents balance work and family responsibilities. Other EI measures include: expanding eligibility for compassionate care benefits; allowing self-employed workers to opt into the EI program to receive maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits, as well as this new special benefit; and improving access to EI parental benefits for military and foster families.
