May 5, 2015
Manitoba Government Introduces Legislation that would Provide Support for Families Losing Stay-at-home Caregivers in Auto Accidents
– – –Amendments to MPI Act would Recognize Unpaid Caregivers; Offer Weekly Benefits of up to $572: Minister Mackintosh
The Manitoba government is introducing changes to legislation that would enhance weekly benefits to families that lose a stay-at-home caregiver in a fatal vehicle accident, Attorney General Gord Mackintosh, minister responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance, announced today.
“When families lose an unpaid, stay-at-home caregiver in an accident, they not only suffer a huge emotional loss, they also face the prospect of having to shoulder the costs of looking after dependent family membersat home,” Minister Mackintosh said. “This legislative change would enhance existing coverage, fully recognizing the value of the work done by the caregiver and compensate the family for the economic loss.”
The caregiver loss benefit would be extended to survivors of victims fatally injured in a motor vehicle accident, whose main occupation at the time of the accident was the unpaid care of children under age 16 or infirm adults, Minister Mackintosh said. Typical examples of this are a stay-at-home parent caring for an adult child with a severe, lifelong mental or physical condition, a spouse caring for an infirm partner or one with severe dementia, or a stay-at-home adult caring for an aging parent, the minister added.
Claims for caregiver weekly benefits would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, taking into account individual circumstances including the number of dependents, the minister said. It would extend the same benefits for caregiver weekly benefits that are already available to families when an unpaid caregiver survives an accident, he added.
Weekly caregiver benefits would range from $436 for one dependent to $572 for four dependents, Minister Mackintosh said, adding that based on the maximum amount $572 per week, eligible survivors of fatally injured victims would be entitled to $29,744 annually, based on current compensation levels.
“The new legislation would allow families to continue looking after a dependent child or adult at home,” Minister Mackintosh said. “This enhanced benefit is an important recognition of the value of the unpaid work done by countless stay-at-home caregivers.”
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