'We've got to protect our sick people': advocate calls for job protection in cases of critical illness

Kathy MacNaughton says her husband, David Fraser, was "old school" in the way he provided for his family working as a carpenter.

In the final two months of his life, while battling esophageal cancer, Fraser took on a job installing a floor to pay for insurance on the family truck.

"To put a person — a sick person — in that situation because of financial reasons is just so wrong and that's why I said I'm going to change this," MacNaughton told reporters at Province House on Thursday.

Money was tight for the family because, at the time, federal employment insurance sickness benefits ended after 15 weeks, despite the fact that Fraser had 45 weeks built up. MacNaughton and the Canadian Cancer Society successfully lobbied the federal government to change the rules and, last December, the benefit was extended to 26 weeks.

"All David did through his sickness was worry about where the next dollars were coming and that's not what he should have been concentrating on in his last months of his life."

A labour bill that is also a health bill

Now MacNaughton is focused on job protection.

In Nova Scotia, labour laws say a person who takes an illness-related leave from work is only guaranteed job protection for three days. MacNaughton wants the law changed so that job protection mirrors the 26 weeks the federal government now allows for employment insurance benefits.

"We've got to protect our sick people so that they don't have to worry, they just have to get better."

Liberal MLA Kelly Regan introduced a bill on Thursday that would do just that by providing 26 weeks of unpaid job protection for someone with a critical illness and creates provisions to allow them to return to work based on their own treatment and recovery process.

While the proposed legislation is a labour bill, Regan said it could also be considered a piece of health legislation.

"It guarantees that people can focus on their recovery, if that's the way their journey goes, and they don't have to worry about their family not having any money coming in and they don't have to worry about losing their jobs, because that happens, too," she told reporters.

Heather Mulligan, manager of advocacy for the Canadian Cancer Society's Atlantic branch, said the issue has been raised with Labour Minister Jill Balser and officials in her department.

Mulligan told reporters that when the federal law was changed, it affected more than 169,000 people across the country. Now they are lobbying provincial governments to adjust their respective job protection legislation to mirror the federal EI changes. Right now, only Quebec provides 26 weeks of leave protection.

Although people might not always lose their job, Mulligan said they have examples of people who, after undergoing treatment for cancer or other critical illnesses, returned to work to find their job had been re-evaluated or reassessed and they no longer have the same role.

Balser said she and department officials are reviewing the legislation and intend to consult with the public and business operators.

"We are looking into it and we know that it's an important issue for all Nova Scotians," she told reporters.

"Cancer is something that touches the lives of so many people, myself included."

The minister has meetings later this month with her provincial and federal colleagues and she said she expects the subject to also be discussed at that time.

Balser lauded MacNaughton for coming forward, noting that it can sometimes take a personal story to understand the impacts of the issue. She drew a parallel between this issue and when Liberal MLA Lorelei Nicoll shared the story of her daughter's pregnancy loss and the need for employment leave in such cases, a situation that led to a change in legislation.

"I can see this as a very similar piece of action," said Balser.

MORE TOP STORIES