[Note: this Statement was released in January 2004.  At that time, our organization was named FCgANS.  The statement  is included here for historical context.]

Position Statement on Compassionate Care Benefits:
Caregiver Job and Income Protection

In the 2003 Federal Budget, Finance Minister Manley promised funding for compassionate care benefits under the Employment Insurance Program as was recommended in the 2002 Speech from the Throne and the Kirby and Romanow reports.

“Our renewed commitment to health care recognizes the individual contribution of Canadians in building a healthy and compassionate society. Those who are gravely ill and dying often want to be cared for in the place they know best, and by those they love best: in their own homes and by their own family. Too often family members must make difficult choices between work and being able to provide compassionate care. This budget expands the employment insurance program to allow compassionate care leave from work for those who must look after a gravely ill child, parent or spouse.”¹

Family Caregivers’ Association of Nova Scotia (FCgANS) supports job and income protection for employed caregivers caring for ill and dying family members. The commitment to enact Compassionate Care Benefits and the increased awareness of caregiving is appreciated by FCgANS.

Today we are looking toward the next steps for job and income protection for all caregivers. This will require an expanded definition of who qualifies for Compassionate Care Benefits. The definitions of a caregiver and family must also be developed to ensure the benefit is available to all caregivers. The following are concerns expressed by the FCgANS which should be included in expanded Compassionate Care Benefits.

The program needs to meet the needs of

• caregivers, many of whom are women, in non traditional jobs such as seasonal, contractual or are self-employed,
• those who have not worked at one job for longer than three months and
• those who do not have 600 insurable hours and therefore do not qualify to receive Compassionate Care Benefits.

The definitions of a caregiver and family must be expanded to reflect those who are actively caregiving such as: 

• daughters and sons-in-law
• siblings, nieces, nephews
• aunts/uncles
• grandchildren, grandparents, great-grandparents
• friends and
• same sex partners.

Other concerns include:

• a need to increase the time allotted from six weeks of benefits to a more realistic benefit
• those who quit work to care for a gravely-ill family member are not guaranteed to receive Compassionate Care Benefits
• the benefit of 55% of an individual’s salary, coupled with a wait period of 2 weeks with no salary, limits those who can take advantage of the program. For the most part it is prohibitive for low income earners
• if one received compassionate care and regular benefits within the same taxation year, there may be a requirement to repay some or all of the regular benefits.
• earnings from retirement income from an employment pension, military or police pension, Canada Pension Plan or provincial plan based on employment may affect your Compassionate Care Benefit
• supports for families providing palliative care are not available across Nova Scotia
• rural families’ requirements are often different due to limited health services

Just the Facts ³

•  According to the 2001 Census, 4.2 Million or 18.2% of Canadians assisted seniors in the previous week.²
• According to Statistics Canada, an estimated 70.5% of male caregivers and 46.8% of female caregivers are employed full-time. An additional 15.3% of female caregivers are employed part-time
• Compassionate Care Benefits are one fiscal measure to support a specific group – employed caregivers.
• The new provision requires a waiting period for the new compassionate benefit, but when eligible family members share benefits the waiting period may be deferred for all but one family member.
• Claimants need to obtain a medical certificate from a doctor indicating that the family member is gravely ill with a significant risk of death in the next 26 weeks (six months) and that there is a need for one or more family members to provide the ill family member with care or support.

FCgANS is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing information and practical supports to more than 85,000 family caregivers in Nova Scotia and to ensure that family caregivers are recognized as an integral part of the health care system and society.

Approved in principle by the FCgANS Board of Directors January 24, 2004

Sources
Compassionate Care Benefits - federal site http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ae-ei/pubs/compassionate_care.shtml
Bill No 7 – NS Labour Standards Code http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc//bills/59th_ist/Ist_read/b007.htm
The Q and A - NS Labour Standards Division http://www.gov.ns.ca/enla/labstand/ccare.htm
Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. (November 2002). www.healthcarecommission.ca.

Endnotes
1 Honorable John Manley, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, February 18, 2003
2 Statistics Canada. (2001). Statistics Canada. (2001). 2001 Census: Unpaid Work: Statistics Canada: Ottawa. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/paid/canada.cfm.
3 For more information about the Quality End of Life Coalition, please visit http://www.chpca.net/initiatives/quality_end-of- life_care_coalition.htm. The Canadian Caregiver Coalition is a member of this Coalition. www.ccc-ccan.ca