Blake Richards, Banff-Airdrie Conservative MP, in Motion 110 has proposed financial reprieve for parents who lose infant to death, particularly SIDS. The motion proposes investigation to ensure parents do not suffer undue financial or emotional hardship due to government programming design, particularly from Employment Insurance Parental Benefits. He believes these families are affected by “bureaucratic oversight.”
How is revoking of parental benefits any different than revoking of senior death benefits? If payment of benefits continues after month in which a senior is deceased, these benefits have to be repaid.
Regarding bereavement leaves, why should parents of deceased infants receive more than what other families receive in bereavement processes? If employed, most Canadians (if they are so lucky to have these benefits) receive up to one week of bereavement leave. Continued difficulties with bereavement process are dealt with through sick leave, then short term and long-term disability. These same benefits are not available to those who are not employed at time of infant’s death.
Conservatives continually want to cut taxes but keep adding benefits. Who is going to pay for yet another benefit that purposely privileges special interest groups, lobbyists, families and married or coupled households over singles and the poor? Many government programs do harm due to design. One example, if privileged benefits are given to parents of infant deaths, then same privileging should be given to estates of singles never married, no kids who die, including tragic deaths, before receiving CPP. In just ten years of employment with $2,500 annual CPP contributions or $25,000, deceased single person’s estate will only receive a $2,500 death benefit. Total of $22,500 is forfeited to be used by the survivors of married or coupled households. Imagine what the total might be for forty years of CPP contributions! Singles face righteous anger and despair because of financial discrimination and social injustice heaped on them when they are made invisible by “bureaucratic oversight”.
The death of an infant should not be financially treated any differently than deaths of other family members.
Lin Gackle
