Real Change: A New Plan For a Strong Middle Class (page 19)

"In addition, the Government is committed to further improving EI. This includes making Compassionate Care Benefits easier to access, more flexible and more inclusive for those who provide care for seriously ill family members, and providing more flexibility in parental leave benefits to better accommodate unique family and work situations. These objectives will be advanced over the course of the Government’s mandate."  ("Growing The Middle Class" Budget 2016-2017)

“To better support caregivers, Budget 2017 proposes to provide $691.3 million over five years, starting in 2017–18, and $168.1 million per year thereafter, to create anew EI caregiving benefit of up to 15 weeks. The new benefit will cover a
broader range of situations where individuals are providing care to an adult family member who requires significant support in order to recover from a critical illness or injury. Parents of critically ill children will continue to have access to up to 35 weeks of benefits, with additional flexibility to share these benefits with more family members.” (Building a strong middle class, March 22, 2017)