​This regulation sets out the conditions for when an employee takes family medical leave or critical illness leave with respect to a person who considers the employee to be like a family member.

Section 1 – Condition re family member

The family medical leave provision in ESA Part XIV, s. 49.1(3) paragraph 12 and critical illness leave in the definition of family member at ESA Part XIV, s. 49.4(1) both define “family member” for the purpose of determining eligibility for the leave, and include “a person who considers the employee to be like a family member.”

If an employee wishes to take either critical illness leave or family medical leave to care for such a person, the employee must provide a copy of a “document provided to an agency or department of the Government of Canada for the purposes of claiming benefits under the Employment Insurance Act” to the employer if the employer requests it. At the time of writing, the Employment Insurance (“EI”) benefit that is available to employees who wish to take family medical leave is the compassionate care EI benefit, and in order to qualify for EI benefits when an employee takes family medical leave to care for someone who considers the employee to be like a family member, the employee must complete an attestation form for Service Canada. Whether or not the employee intends to apply for the EI benefit, it is this form that must be provided to the employer if the employer asks for it.

In the case of critical illness leave, the requirement is the same: if the employer requests a copy of the document that the employee provided to Service Canada to support an application for EI benefits to care for a critically ill family member when that person is someone who considers the employee to be like a family member, then the employee must provide it to the employer.