In a significant ruling, the Federal Court of Appeal has sided with a group of six Quebec mothers in their legal battle challenging specific sections of the Employment Insurance Act. The women contested their denial of regular EI benefits after losing their jobs either during or shortly after maternity leave.
Unanimously, a three-judge panel found certain parts of the Employment Insurance Act to be discriminatory, infringing on the women’s constitutional right to equality under the law. The court concluded that withholding regular EI job loss benefits from women who recently received maternity and parental benefits violates section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
All six women in the group had received maternity and parental benefits, and lost their jobs before, during, or after their leaves. Despite this, they were denied EI job loss benefits that they would have otherwise been entitled to receive. Some were denied benefits due to insufficient work hours during the reference period, while others reached the maximum 50 weeks of total benefits.
The court highlighted that the provisions in the EI Act limiting the stacking of maternity and parental benefits with job loss benefits disproportionately impact women. This is because only women can give birth and receive maternity benefits, leading to a skewed distribution of benefits towards women.
The court rendered the discriminatory provisions of the EI Act ineffective but suspended the decision for one year, giving the federal government time to revise the law for fairness. The ruling emphasized that the struck-down provisions perpetuated economic hardships associated with pregnancy and motherhood by failing to offer adequate unemployment safeguards.
This victory comes after an eight-year legal battle supported by Mouvement Action Chômage (MAC) de Montréal, an advocacy group standing with the mothers since 2018. The group aided the women in presenting their case before the Social Security Tribunal of Canada, resulting in a favorable ruling in 2022. Despite the subsequent reversal by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC), the case made its way to the Federal Court of Appeal, culminating in the recent decision.
Lead attorney Sibel Ataogul hailed the ruling as a triumph, noting the significance of the achievement for women across Canada. The case’s outcome aligns with the principles outlined in the Supreme Court of Canada’s Kayinda decision, emphasizing the importance of equality in social program implementation.
The legal battle may continue as the federal government has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada within 60 days. The MAC de Montréal expressed concerns over a potential appeal, citing its impact not only on the six women involved but also on numerous others in similar predicaments across the country awaiting a resolution.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the federal Minister of Jobs and Families regarding the ruling were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
