The uncompassionate elements of the Compassionate Care Benefits Program: a critical analysis

Palliative care is a heavy burden to many Canadians who have dying relatives or friends. The Canadian government implemented a sub-program under the Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefits Program (CCBs) to financially assist informal end-of-life caregivers (1). Since the current Employment Insurance Program's regulations pose a number of barriers for nonstandard employees, many informal caregivers are automatically excluded from its sub-program; the CCBs program. This is especially true for those who belong to disadvantaged social groups, and women. This article explores whether a program designed as part of Employment Insurance can provide comprehensive support to those informal end-of-life care-givers, and whether it is equally accessible to all Canadians. The authors argue that, in order to make the CCBs program effective, it needs to be made independent from Canada's Employment Insurance Program and hence become a true compassionate program that supports all the informal caregivers equally. (Global Health Promotion, 2010; 17(1): pp. 50-59)