Private Members’ Motion 110 proposed by Blake Richards (Member of Parliament for Banff–Airdrie) asked the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (the Committee) to study the impact on families of the loss of an infant child, including as a result of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).[1] The motion asks the committee to consider, among other aspects:

• ways to improve the level of compassion and support for parents who have suffered the loss of an infant child; and
• ways to ensure that parents do not suffer any undue financial or emotional hardship as a result of the design of government programming, particularly from Employment Insurance (EI) parental benefits.

In response to this request, the Committee agreed to hold a five-meeting study and report its findings and recommendations to the House. The motion adopted by the Committee states that:

• One meeting during which one hour will be dedicated to hearing from the sponsor of M-110 and one hour will be dedicated to hearing from the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour and from departmental officials from the Ministry of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Statistics Canada, and the Ministry of Families, Children and Social Development to learn about the design of the employment insurance program, and discuss improvements to assist parents going through the loss of a child or close family member;
• One meeting be dedicated to the loss of infant children from SIDS and how best government programs, and specifically employment insurance, can support parents through this difficult time and improvements that can be made to these programs and systems, including hearing from representatives of families of lived experience;
• One meeting, including hearing from representatives of families of lived experience, be dedicated to the loss of children from causes other than SIDS and how best government programs; and
• Specifically, how EI can support parents through this difficult time and improvements that can be made to these programs and systems;
• One meeting be focused on hearing from experts in the area of grief counselling, emotional hardship, financial security for families, financial matters and the challenges that families may face after the loss of a child, and ways to ensure the design of government systems and programs do not contribute to the challenges parents face in the loss of a child;
• One meeting be dedicated to hearing from departmental officials from the Ministry of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Statistics Canada, and the Ministry of Families, Children and Social Development. [2]

The term “child” is used throughout the report, however its meaning varies based on the context. In the case of Employment Insurance (EI) parental benefits, for instance, children receiving care are normally infants under 18 months old, but may be older in cases of adoption. In their testimony, witnesses often use “child” to refer to anyone under 18 years old, and sometimes include adult children as well.