A month before her son, George, would turn one, and one week before her parental leave was set to end, Jane Marsden found out she had an aggressive form of breast cancer. Specifically, a ?high grade invasive ductal carcinoma,? which meant she wouldn?t be able to return to work for another 12 months. Instead, a double-mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation were to follow?oh, and a battle with Service Canada.
Whatever concerns float through a young mother?s mind when she?s diagnosed with cancer, I?m willing to bet the particularities of the Employment Insurance system aren?t top of her list. But the truth is, timing is everything. All it takes to forfeit sickness benefits in Canada is a ?late? diagnosis date.
Jane considers herself fortunate?she was diagnosed before her paternal leave was up, meaning she could, in government-speak, ?stack? her benefits and receive 15 weeks of sickness pay. It helped her keep her kids in daycare while she underwent treatment. But she only learned that such a rule even existed when Service Canada initially denied her benefits. Had the diagnosis come even one day after the end of her maternity leave, she would have been, as she says, ?screwed.?  .related-article-block{display:inline-block;width:300px;padding:0.5rem;margin-left:0.5rem;float:right;border:1px solid #ccc}@media (max-width: 525px){.related-article-block{float:none;display:block;width:280px;margin:0 auto 2rem}}

How EI maternity benefits in Canada work

It?s absurd that our system ...