Close X
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Human Rights Complaint Filed After B.C. Mom's Maternity Benefits Clawed Back

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 May, 2016 11:28 AM
    VANCOUVER — A human rights complaint has been filed on behalf of a mother whose maternity and parental benefits were clawed back by the British Columbia government.
     
    The Community Legal Assistance Society filed the complaint on behalf of Sooke resident Jess Alford, whose partner receives disability assistance.
     
    Alford received Employment Insurance benefits after the birth of her child in 2014, but the complaint to the BC Human Rights Tribunal alleges all the money was deducted to offset disability assistance paid by the province to her partner.
     
    According to the Community Legal Assistance Society, the B.C. government claws back maternity and parental benefits from primarily female claimants in about 150 families every year.
     
    The society says that amounts to sex discrimination contrary to human rights law because the policy puts families with a female wage earner in a worse financial position than families with a male worker.
     
    Lawyer Laura Johnston says although the complaint was filed after the permitted time frame, the tribunal has agreed to hear it because it is in the public interest.
     
     
    "This complaint is about changing the policy so other families don't have to experience this," Johnston says.
     
    "The B.C. government could step up and say, 'We are going to fix this human rights problem and we are going to change this policy,' and that would solve the complaint," she says. "But if the B.C. government chooses to fight this complaint and put this family through litigation, it could take many more months."
     
    A hearing date has not yet been set by the tribunal but talks will begin with the province in hopes of avoiding a lengthy legal battle, Johnston says.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Researcher To Ending Decade-Long Hunt For Nova Scotia Cougar

    Researcher To Ending Decade-Long Hunt For Nova Scotia Cougar
    HALIFAX — After 10 years of patiently waiting for Nova Scotia's ghost cougar to appear, a determined researcher working in the dark forests of Kejimkujik National Park is calling it quits.

    Researcher To Ending Decade-Long Hunt For Nova Scotia Cougar

    Case Put Over For Man Charged With Murder In Stabbing Of Montreal Store Clerk

    Case Put Over For Man Charged With Murder In Stabbing Of Montreal Store Clerk
    Randy Tshilumba appeared in a Montreal courtroom today in connection with the April 10 slaying of Clemence Beaulieu-Patry, 20.

    Case Put Over For Man Charged With Murder In Stabbing Of Montreal Store Clerk

    Christy Clark Draws Fire For Taking B.C. Liberal Party Stipend Above Her Salary

    Christy Clark Draws Fire For Taking B.C. Liberal Party Stipend Above Her Salary
    The stipend is in addition to the premier's annual salary of about $195,000, is a long-standing tradition in the party and former premier Gordon Campbell received $90,000 at one point.

    Christy Clark Draws Fire For Taking B.C. Liberal Party Stipend Above Her Salary

    Former Residents Of 12 Ontario Institutions For Disabled Win $36-million Lawsuit

    Former Residents Of 12 Ontario Institutions For Disabled Win $36-million Lawsuit
    TORONTO — Former residents of 12 Ontario institutions for people with developmental disabilities have won a $36-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against the provincial government.

    Former Residents Of 12 Ontario Institutions For Disabled Win $36-million Lawsuit

    Uber Driver Charged With Sexual Assault After Attack In Markham, Ont.

    Uber Driver Charged With Sexual Assault After Attack In Markham, Ont.
    York Regional Police say the incident happened shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning when a woman in her 30s used the Uber app to arrange a ride in Richmond Hill, just north of Toronto.

    Uber Driver Charged With Sexual Assault After Attack In Markham, Ont.

    Two Men Prosecuted In 1989 Murder Of Hamilton Teacher Lose Lawsuit Against Cops

    Two Men Prosecuted In 1989 Murder Of Hamilton Teacher Lose Lawsuit Against Cops
    Christopher McCullough spent nine years behind bars for the murder of Beverly Perrin, 55, before being freed on appeal in 2000 after fresh DNA evidence emerged.

    Two Men Prosecuted In 1989 Murder Of Hamilton Teacher Lose Lawsuit Against Cops