C-222 (45-1) - Relieving Grieving Parents of an Administrative Burden Act (Evan's Law)
Chamber
commons
Stage
Cmte Reading
Introduced
Sep 18, 2025
Progress
This bill lets parents keep their parental leave and EI benefits if their newborn or adopted child dies during the leave period.
Key Changes
- Parents receiving EI parental or maternity benefits remain eligible for those benefits if their newborn or adopted child dies during the benefit period
- Self-employed people enrolled in EI are also covered by the same protection
- Parents are not required to file a new EI claim or submit reports to prove continued eligibility after a child's death
- Employees under the Canada Labour Code retain their full maternity or parental leave entitlement even if the child dies during that leave
- An exception is included: benefits are not protected if the child's death resulted from an offence committed by the parent, and the parent is convicted of that offence
Gotchas
- The bill only applies to federally regulated employees under the Canada Labour Code; provincially regulated workers would depend on their province's employment standards laws for equivalent job-protected leave
- There is an explicit exception that removes benefit protection if the parent is convicted of an offence that caused the child's death
- The bill does not create new benefits or extend the leave period beyond what was already approved — it simply preserves existing entitlements after the child's death
- Self-employed individuals are only covered if they have voluntarily opted into the EI system, as not all self-employed Canadians participate
Who's Affected
- Parents of newborns who die during the maternity or parental leave period
- Adoptive parents whose child dies during the parental leave period
- Self-employed Canadians who have opted into the EI program
- Federally regulated employees covered by the Canada Labour Code
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The bill only applies to federally regulated employees under the Canada Labour Code; provincially regulated workers would depend on their province's employment standards laws for equivalent job-protected leave
- There is an explicit exception that removes benefit protection if the parent is convicted of an offence that caused the child's death
- The bill does not create new benefits or extend the leave period beyond what was already approved — it simply preserves existing entitlements after the child's death
- Self-employed individuals are only covered if they have voluntarily opted into the EI system, as not all self-employed Canadians participate
Summary
Bill C-222, known as Evan's Law, changes the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code so that parents do not lose their maternity or parental leave benefits if their child dies during the approved leave period. Currently, the death of a child can trigger the end of eligibility for these benefits, forcing grieving parents to deal with paperwork and administrative processes at an already devastating time. This bill removes that burden by treating the parent as if they are still caring for the child for the remainder of the approved leave period. The bill covers employees under the Canada Labour Code as well as self-employed people who have opted into the EI system. It applies to parents of newborns and to parents who have adopted or are in the process of adopting a child. Parents would not need to file a new claim or submit additional reports to continue receiving their benefits after the child's death. This is a private member's bill introduced by MP Terry Beech in September 2025. It is named after a specific child (Evan), suggesting it was inspired by a real family's experience with this administrative gap in the law.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses