Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

The committee met to consider Bill C-222, Evan’s Law, a private member’s bill that would allow parents who qualify for Employment Insurance parental benefits to continue receiving them if their child dies, without having to navigate administrative red tape or face clawbacks. Minister Terry Beech appeared as the bill’s sponsor, explaining that the current system forces grieving parents to immediately contact Service Canada and switch to sickness benefits, often requiring biweekly calls to justify their need. He described the bill as a compassionate, largely cost-neutral measure that would eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy for approximately 1,700 families each year. He noted that a royal recommendation had been secured and that he was open to minor technical amendments but urged the committee not to expand the bill’s scope in ways that could jeopardize its passage.

Conservative members expressed support for the bill’s principle and proposed an amendment to also cover cases where a parent on leave dies, arguing it would address a similar gap. Minister Beech responded that he had not studied the costing or implications of that expansion and was concerned about risking the rare royal recommendation already obtained. The Bloc Québécois and Liberal members emphasized the bill’s importance and urged the committee to move forward without delay. No decision was reached on the proposed expansion, and the committee did not complete its consideration of the bill.

After Minister Beech’s testimony, the committee turned to other business. A Liberal motion to study the national school food program was debated, with an amendment to reduce the number of meetings from eight to four. That amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. A Conservative subamendment to add “food price inflation” to the study’s scope was also agreed to, along with adding “and economists” to the list of potential witnesses. The committee then adopted the main motion as amended, authorizing a study on food price inflation and the national school food program. Finally, the committee agreed to reiterate its request for Minister Joël Lightbound to appear regarding the Cúram software and Old Age Security processing issues, as previously ordered.