The House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities met to study Bill C-222, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code (death of a child). Witnesses included bereaved parents, a labour lawyer, and representatives from perinatal bereavement support organizations.
Briana Koop, a bereaved parent, shared her personal story of losing her son Marlow shortly after birth, describing the profound grief and the practical challenges of navigating daily life, including the need for clothing that fit her postpartum body. She emphasized that the early weeks and months after loss are an "impossible weight" and that the bill would ease the burden on grieving parents by removing administrative hurdles and providing time to grieve.
Gabriel Pelletier, a lawyer with Comité Chômage Haut-Richelieu et du Suroît, strongly supported Bill C-222 but proposed an amendment to extend its protections to parents receiving caregiver benefits for a critically ill child or compassionate care benefits when the child is under 18. He argued that these parents face the same trauma and bureaucratic challenges, and that the amendment would help thousands of families across Canada, including in Quebec where the bill's current impact is limited due to the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.
Danyelle Kaluski, co-founder and CEO of the Pregnancy, Infant & Child Loss Support Centre, described the trauma of stillbirth and the uncertainty about leave that followed. She stressed that the bill's simple, humane change—allowing leave to continue without new claims or reports—would remove an administrative burden from families in profound grief, and noted that the current system fails to recognize bereaved parents as still being parents.
Janie Lapointe Tremblay, executive director of Les Perséides, highlighted the deep psychological distress of perinatal loss and the administrative barriers families face, such as receiving a baby's benefits after a stillbirth. She urged the committee to recognize that perinatal grief exists and to consider the broader gaps in the system, noting that many families, including those experiencing miscarriage or medical termination, remain without adequate protection.
Robert Samulack, a registered nurse, shared his experience of losing his son Aaron shortly after birth. He noted that as a student, the bill would not have applied to him, but he suffered burnout and lasting repercussions from not having time to process his grief, and he questioned the bill's wording on whether parental leave would commence after maternity leave ends.
Rachel Samulack, a public servant, described returning to work after maternity leave, ineligible for parental leave because her baby had died, and having to provide a death certificate. She also recounted a $14,000 debt from the Canada Child Benefit that required multiple traumatic calls to the Canada Revenue Agency, and recommended that government agencies adopt trauma-informed practices and provide clear resources to employees and supervisors.
The committee adopted a motion by unanimous consent to conduct a two-meeting study on the possibility of providing for the continuation of EI parental leave in the event of the death of a parent, and to withdraw a previous motion regarding expansion of Bill C-222, with the understanding that no Conservative amendments would be proposed at clause-by-clause stage.
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