Supreme Court asked to rule EI violates rights of parents who work part time. (Children, Youth and Families).EDMONTON -- Nurse Kelly Lesiuk asked the Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system.[1] to rule that employment insurance rules are biased against women, because EI rules exclude thousands of mothers who work part-time to care for their children. The case has been in the court system for almost three years. Her appeal went to the Supreme Court after the Federal Court of Appeal rejected her contention that the rule violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply The Charter) is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982. because it makes it harder for women who are child caregivers to accumulate the hours they need to qualify for EI. Lesiuk began the court challenge five years ago when changes in the Employment Insurance made her ineligible in·el·i·gi·ble adj. 1. Disqualified by law, rule, or provision: ineligible to run for office; ineligible for health benefits. 2. for benefits after she left her job to join her husband in Winnipeg. Since 1996 the new rules, required her to have collected 700 hours during the previous 52 weeks, and she fell short with only 667 hours because she had a three-year-old child and worked part-time. Under the former rules she would have been eligible. The Federal Court of Appeal rejected Ms. Lesiuk's argument that the EI rules violate women's right to equality. Justice Gilles Letourneau overturned a decision from an employment insurance umpire A person chosen to decide a question in a controversy that has been submitted to Arbitration but has not been resolved because the arbitrators cannot reach agreement, or one who has been chosen to be a permanent arbitrator for the duration of a collective bargaining agreement. , who had sided with Ms. Lesiuk The umpire concluded that the new rules "demean de·mean 1 tr.v. de·meaned, de·mean·ing, de·means To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner: demeaned themselves well in class. the essential human dignity Human dignity is an expression that can be used as a moral concept or as a legal term. Sometimes it means no more than that human beings should not be treated as objects. Beyond this, it is meant to convey an idea of absolute and inherent worth that does not need to be acquired and of women who predominate in the part-time labour force." Judge Letourneau decided it was not up to him to second-guess Parliament, which he said crafted the new rules for the complex EI program after extensive debate and study. Justice Letourneau refused to challenge the legislation. "I am satisfied that Parliament's choice in this case falls within a range of reasonable alternatives." The Supreme Court will decide later this year if it will review Lesiuk's case. |
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