Bill C-518: An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (compassionate care benefits for dependent children)

C-518 Second Session, Thirty-ninth Parliament, 56-57 Elizabeth II, 2007-2008 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-518 An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (compassionate care benefits for dependent children) first reading, March 3, 2008 Mr. D'Amours 392089 SUMMARY This enactment amends the Employment Insurance Act to increase the period during which a claimant can receive special benefits for the care or support of a family member from six weeks to fifteen. The enactment also provides special benefits for a claimant who is caring for a dependent child with a serious medical condition who must receive health care outside the region in which the child lives. Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:http://www.parl.gc.ca .vis1 {position: absolute;display:block;} .vis2 {position: static;} 2nd Session, 39th Parliament, 56-57 Elizabeth II, 2007-2008 house of commons of canada BILL C-518 An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (compassionate care benefits for dependent children) 1996, c. 23 Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: 1. Paragraph 12(3)(d) of the Employment Insurance Act is replaced by the following: (d) because the claimant is providing care or support to one or more family members described in subsection 23.1(2), is fifteen. 2. (1) Paragraph 23.1(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following: (b) a child of the individual, a child of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner, a dependent child of the individual or a dependent child of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner; (2) Paragraphs 23.1(2)(a) and (b) of the Act are replaced by the following: (a) a family member of the claimant (i) has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks (A) from the day the certificate is issued, (B) in the case of a claim that is made before the day the certificate is issued, from the day from which the medical doctor certifies the family member’s medical condition, or (C) in the case of a claim that is regarded to have been made on an earlier day under subsection 10(4) or (5), from that earlier day, and (ii) requires the care or support of one or more other family members; and (b) a dependent child of the claimant has a serious medical condition and must receive health care that is not available in the region where the child lives but that is offered in an institution that is more than 40 kilometres from the child’s place of residence. (3) Section 23.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2): Definition of “dependent child” (2.1) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), “dependent child” means a child of the claimant or a child of the claimant’s spouse or common-law spouse who (a) is less than eighteen years of age; (b) is eighteen or more years of age but less than twenty-five years of age and is in full-time attendance at a school or university as defined by regulation; or (c) is a child other than a child described in paragraph (b), is eighteen or more years of age and is disabled, having been disabled without interruption since reaching eighteen years of age. 3. Paragraph 54(f.3) of the Act is replaced by the following: (f.3) defining and determining what is care or support for the purposes of subparagraph 23.1(2)(a)(ii); Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of CommonsAvailable from:Publishing and Depository ServicesPublic Works and Government Services Canada