Honourable senators, I am proud to have the opportunity today to speak in support of Bill C-220. This private member’s bill, or PMB, proposed by my Conservative caucus colleague and friend MP Matt Jeneroux would extend job-protected bereavement leave for federally regulated workers.

For Matt, this bill has been a labour of love. He explains the genesis of Bill C-220 as born from his own difficult choice a number of years ago: accept increased responsibility at a new job or care for his ailing grandmother. He chose the job and came to regret that decision when his grandmother passed away a few weeks later.

When Mr. Jeneroux was a member of the Alberta legislature, he introduced and passed a bill to create compassionate care leave in that province. He recognized that Albertans shouldn’t be forced to choose between a loved one and a job. As the Member of Parliament for Edmonton Riverbend, Mr. Jeneroux chose to create a similar private member’s bill about compassionate leave for federally regulated employees.

As many of you know, the procedure for creating private members’ bills in the House of Commons is very different than that of Senate public bills. In the House, the names of members of Parliament are drawn in a lottery system to determine the order of priority for private members’ bills. An MP may very well only get one chance during their entire time in Parliament to bring forward a PMB, so the initiatives tend to be well considered and often a “passion project” for an individual MP. This is certainly the case for Bill C-220.

Following committee study and discussions with Labour Minister Filomena Tassi and Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Housefather, Matt expanded his bill from compassionate leave, involving primarily caregivers, to focus on bereavement leave. This would encompass those whose loved ones passed away unexpectedly, in addition to those whose family members had endured prolonged sickness.

Currently, federally regulated employees are allowed five days of bereavement leave — three of them paid. Bill C-220 will provide an extra five days of unpaid bereavement leave to be taken within six weeks of a family member’s death. It would also offer workers who have been on compassionate care leave, who may have exhausted all other avenues of leave during that period of caregiving, the opportunity to take additional bereavement leave after that person’s death.

Honourable senators, we have all known grief, and we all grieve differently according to our circumstances. Some of you have unfortunately known, as I have, the pain of losing a spouse. In my case, my husband’s death was sudden and unexpected. For me, returning to work the following week was my personal method of coping. But another person may find it difficult to even get out of bed. Someone else may need to spend time in the supportive embrace of family and friends before returning to their workplace. Grief also does not necessarily proceed in a straight line — some days may seem better while others trigger a setback. Further, there is often a significant amount of time necessary to deal with important estate matters. Bill C-220 will give federally regulated employees the time and flexibility they need to grieve in their own ways, while protecting their jobs and livelihoods.

Honourable senators, this initiative is especially needed now during a COVID pandemic that has so cruelly isolated many Canadians during their time of grieving. Many of the supports and comforts usually offered to people struggling in the wake of a loved one’s death are unavailable. Bill C-220 extends to federally regulated workers the compassionate gift of additional time to mourn, to rest, to make arrangements and to cope during what may well be the most difficult period of their lives.

I want to address a couple of concerns that were raised about Bill C-220: namely, that it does not go far enough. Senator Simons mentioned that this bill will affect only 6% of the Canadian workforce because it focuses only on federally regulated employees governed by the Canada Labour Code. The fact of the matter is federal private members’ bills can only be drafted about matters falling within federal jurisdiction. **Furthermore, Senator Simons expressed her wish to see this initiative expanded to include paid bereavement leave. While I certainly understand her desire to see that Canadians have the supports they need, I do think we need to keep in mind the rules governing private member’s bills dictate that a PMB cannot require the spending of public funds. As such, because of the parliamentary limitations of private members’ bills, Bill C-220 could not be expanded to address those concerns. A large part of the value of this bill lies in providing a model for Canada’s provinces to institute similar measures in their own labour standards legislation and through that to expand this initiative to even more people within Canada.

Matt Jeneroux is known as a strong constituency MP. He has done an exceptional job of advancing this private member’s bill. Mr. Jeneroux has taken the time to consider carefully how this legislation could best benefit Canadian workers. He has worked collaboratively with members of the other parties, including the government, to develop consensus within the House of Commons that this private member’s bill is necessary and important. This bill passed unanimously in the House of Commons in a standing vote — a rare feat indeed. In that spirit, I hope all honourable senators will join me in voting in favour of Bill C-220. Let’s take this opportunity to build a more compassionate Canada. Thank you.