Family Caregiving

Funded by the Law Foundation of B.C., the Family Caregiving Research Project reviewed the current legal framework governing

• leave,
• accommodation and other entitlements available to employees who are providing care for family members, elderly parents and grandparents and disabled adult children,
• addressing the care needs of adults living with mental health issues, physical and developmental disabilities and long terms illnesses, as well as
• the corresponding challenge of their caregivers to balance work and domestic responsibilities.

The project involved an inter-jurisdictional analysis of family care leave provisions including human rights law, labour law, employment law, constitutional law, taxation law and pensions and benefits entitlements, and the work culminated in a published B.C. Law Institute study paper containing directions for law reform.

Who are BC’s Caregivers?

Although BCLI has gathered little social data on this issue, our preliminary investigations suggest that while the laws in this area may be gender and culture neutral, the family care landscape likely is not; rather, gender, language, culture, ability, age and other social group memberships may impact on both access to services and the need or responsibility of an individual to assume care responsibilities. For example, a significant portion of the caregiving labour performed in Canada is provided by women.

An advisory committee of professionals with expertise in employment law, human rights and caregiving informed the work of this project.