OTTAWA –
The federal government is extending sickness benefits to 26 weeks from 15 weeks, Employment Minister Carla Qualtrow announced on Friday.
Workers applying for EI will be eligible for the more generous benefits from December 18, with advocates praising the move but calling on the government to deliver on its promise of a much bigger overhaul of the system.
Qualtrow made the announcement while visiting the Canadian Cancer Society’s regional care center in Vancouver.
“Too many workers are paying into EI, but when they get seriously ill, when they have injuries to recover from, the 15 weeks doesn’t cover the duration of their injuries,” Qualtrow said.
“We know that. And organizations like yours have been advocating for an increase in EI sick weeks for a very long time.”
The maximum length of unpaid medical leave available to federally regulated private sector workers is also being extended to 27 weeks from 17, effective the same date.
This change will ensure that such workers can take enough unpaid leave from their jobs to receive extended EI sickness benefits.
In September, Qualtrough met with union leaders and pledged to extend EI sick pay from 15 to 26 weeks by the end of the year, a change that was telegraphed in the 2022 budget.
On Friday, a spokesman for the National Council of the Unemployed called the announcement “a big step forward.”
“But this is nothing new and this announcement in no way replaces the long-awaited EI reform, which is expected to be introduced in early December,” Pierre Cere said in a statement.
In 2021, the Liberals campaigned on a promise to modernize EI and pledged to expand the program to include the self-employed and close gaps, including those highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employment and Social Development Canada held a series of public consultations on EI reform that concluded over the summer.
Qualthro previously said the government would present its plan by the end of the year. She added on Friday that the government “will have a lot more to say” about the modernization.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 25, 2022.
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