Bill C-217 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code (compassionate care benefits for caregivers)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill C-217 would extend compassionate care benefits and leave to help people care for seriously ill family members, increasing maximum benefit periods and leave duration under federal employment insurance and labour law.
Bill C-217 would change federal rules about "compassionate care benefits" — financial support for people who need to take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member. The bill makes two main changes: **Employment Insurance Act changes:** - It increases the maximum benefit period to 78 weeks (for some types of extensions) or 93 weeks (for other types of extensions) - It sets the maximum number of weeks someone can receive compassionate care benefits at 26 weeks within a 52-week period - These amounts apply even if a person makes multiple claims for the same family member - It expands the timeframe used to determine if a family member has a serious medical condition with significant risk of death to 52 weeks **Canada Labour Code changes:** - It increases the maximum compassionate care leave from the current amount to up to 52 weeks - It requires a qualified medical practitioner to certify that a family member has a serious medical condition with significant risk of death within 52 weeks - It sets a limit that if multiple employees take leave for the same family member, the total leave cannot exceed 52 weeks in the specified period The bill was introduced in November 2008 but the text does not specify when these changes would take effect if the bill passes.
- Amends the Employment Insurance Act to increase the maximum benefit period to 78 weeks (for extensions under subsections 13.1 or 13.2) or 93 weeks (for extensions under subsection 13.3)
- Sets the maximum compassionate care benefits at 26 weeks within a 52-week period, applying even when multiple claims are made for the same family member
- Changes the medical eligibility criterion to state that a family member must have a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 52 weeks
- Adjusts the time-limited entitlement rules in the Employment Insurance Act to accommodate the new maximum benefit periods
- Amends the Canada Labour Code to increase compassionate care leave entitlement to up to 52 weeks
- Requires a qualified medical practitioner's certificate confirming serious medical condition with significant risk of death within 52 weeks for Canada Labour Code leave eligibility
- Limits aggregate leave taken by multiple employees for the same family member to a maximum of 52 weeks in the applicable period
- Workers who are eligible for compassionate care benefits under the Employment Insurance Act
- Employees covered by the Canada Labour Code who need to take compassionate care leave
- Family members of workers requiring serious medical care
- Employers of workers taking compassionate care leave under the Canada Labour Code
- The bill text does not specify the date when these changes would come into force if the bill is passed
- The bill references subsections 23.1(2) and other provisions of the Employment Insurance Act without including the full text of those provisions, so the complete eligibility criteria are not fully detailed in this bill text
- The bill does not explain what constitutes a 'qualified medical practitioner' for purposes of issuing required certificates
- The definition of 'serious medical condition with a significant risk of death' is not provided in the bill text
- The relationship between the different extension provisions (subsections 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3) is not explained in the bill
- The bill does not specify how benefits are calculated or what amount workers would receive
Increases maximum compassionate care benefit periods and sets maximum weekly benefits at 26 weeks per 52-week period; expands eligibility timeframe to 52 weeks for determining if a family member has serious medical condition
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4
Increases compassionate care leave entitlement to up to 52 weeks and clarifies medical certification requirements; limits total leave for multiple employees caring for same family member to 52 weeks
Source: Section 5
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Introduction and first reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced