2024-01-15 05:00:00
Having reached the end of the 26-week employment insurance benefits in the event of serious illness to which he was entitled, a young father from the Quebec region suffering from cancer finds himself caught off guard while he still has at least a year of treatment. He is making a heartfelt cry for the federal government to improve its program.
Olivier Beaudoin, 30, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in June 2023. The resident of Saint-Gilles in Chaudière-Appalaches had to leave his job as sales director of a construction company to devote himself to his recovery .
“I spent a month in the hospital last summer, so I had to apply for employment insurance, as I had no coverage with my employer. The doctors told me that I had regarding two years of treatment and chemotherapy,” he says.
The 26 weeks of financial assistance granted to Mr. Beaudoin by Services Canada ended last month. As he cannot return to work due to his cancer, the father of a two-year-old girl will have to find a way to survive for the next 18 months without a decent income.
“We have a mortgage to pay, a car payment and he was the biggest earner of the two,” laments his wife, Marie-Pier Asselin, who works as a beneficiary attendant. How can a family of three live on $40,000 a year in income today? We already experience enough stress with illness, we don’t need to experience it financially on top of that.”
Suffering from leukemia, Olivier Beaudoin, 30, has exhausted the 26 weeks of employment insurance in the event of serious illness to which he was entitled. He will have to continue his treatments without receiving income over the next year. In the photo, he is accompanied by his partner, Marie-Pier Asselin, and their 2-year-old daughter. Photo provided by Marie-Pier Asselin
Try everything
Mr. Beaudoin did not “want to speak to the Journal” at the beginning. It was following having exhausted all the other solutions available to him that he decided to confide.
“We looked at all the possibilities. Foundations and organizations that help sick people do not have the means. Some lenders offer programs, but the interest rates are around 14.5%, it’s unrealistic,” he continues.
The young thirty-year-old even tried to withdraw money from his pension fund to have enough to live on in the coming months.
“They don’t want to know anything, because to be able to do that, you have to be certain that I’m going to die within the next two years. I’m too sick to work, but not sick enough to be able to touch this money.
Ultimately, it is Olivier Beaudoin’s father who will have to give a helping hand to his son, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter over the next year. Gillois’ mother herself died of brain cancer at the age of 57.
He will also try his luck to obtain social assistance benefits from the Quebec government. However, the young father does not know if his request will be accepted, since the eligibility conditions are very strict.
“Even if it works, it won’t be enough to cover our expenses. It would be better than nothing, but we mightn’t live with that alone,” notes the 30-year-old young man.
“To have known”
As he prepares to return to the hospital for a long stay due to a bone marrow transplant, Mr. Beaudoin is biting his fingers for not having taken out personal health insurance.
“Having known, it’s clear that I wouldn’t have taken the chance,” he whispers. But no one ever talked to me regarding it and it’s not the kind of thing they teach us at school, even if it was important to do so.”
Doctors suggested she go under the knife to greatly reduce the chances of her cancer recurring. Even if it is necessary for his survival, this new procedure nevertheless takes him a little further away from a return to work.
“It’s terrible to have to think regarding this, but I hesitated to do the transplant. I had to ask myself whether I had the financial means to maximize my chances of recovery,” concludes Olivier Beaudoin.
Those close to Olivier Beaudoin and Marie-Pier Asselin launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the couple get through the tedious treatments without financial worry.
Limit of 26 weeks of benefits: an “irresponsible and unacceptable” decision according to the Bloc
The Bloc Québécois is not surprised to see that the 26 weeks of employment insurance benefits in the event of serious illness are not enough. The government made an “irresponsible and unacceptable” decision by not following the recommendations of experts in the matter, according to the party.
“We might only suspect it,” laments the Bloc’s spokesperson for labor, employment and workforce development, Louise Chabot. The government tried to split the pear in two and people are suffering as a result. I have enormous compassion for them.”
Against all odds
The member for Thérèse-de-Blainville refers to the decision taken by the Liberal government in November 2022 to increase the maximum number of weeks from 15 to 26, while all the opposition parties wanted the ceiling to be set at 50 .
“All the documents presented to us during the study of the project showed that it took an average of 41 weeks to recover from serious illnesses. […] Cancers cannot be cured in six months, she continues. Episodic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis may also require treatment longer than the period of assistance that Services Canada can grant.”
Ms. Chabot did not fail to point out that in 2012, the Liberal Party itself agreed to increase the eligibility period from 15 to 50 weeks when a petition with 600,000 signatures to request this measure was successful. in the House of Commons.
More and more
Suffering from acute lymphocytic leukemia, Olivier Beaudoin confides that the social workers he has met since his diagnosis see cases like his “every week”.
“The number of cancers will continue to increase in the coming years,” argues the young father. Things need to change.”
For her part, Ms. Chabot maintains that there are “many more workers who do not benefit from group insurance with their employer than one might believe.”
“We have said it from the beginning: we need a complete reform of employment insurance that corresponds to current needs,” she says.
The History of Employment Insurance Critical Illness Benefits
- 1971: The first version of the Employment Insurance (Serious Illness, Injury and Quarantine) Act is adopted. Recipients are entitled to 15 weeks of financial assistance.
- 2009: A petition to increase the maximum number of weeks collects 600,000 names across the country. Despite several bills over the years, the legislation remains unchanged.
- 2019-2020: Émilie Sansfaçon, a young mother from Quebec suffering from cancer, brings the cause of the lack of financial support for patients to the House of Commons. She died of illness before things changed.
- 2021: The Bloc Québécois launches the Émilie Sansfaçon bill and asks the Liberal government to increase the maximum number of weeks from 15 to 50.
- 2022: Justin Trudeau’s government decides to increase the employment insurance benefit period in the event of serious illness to 26 weeks. All opposition parties wanted the limit to be set at 50.
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