Bill C-222: Relieving Grieving Parents of an Administrative Burden Act (Evan's Law)

This bill primarily affects federally regulated employers — those in industries like banking, telecommunications, interprovincial transportation, and federal Crown corporations — who must provide bereavement leave under the Canada Labour Code. These employers will need to grant employees up to 10 weeks of bereavement leave (up from the current entitlement) when an employee's child dies, including when the death occurs during parental leave. For most private-sector businesses governed by provincial labour standards, the bereavement leave changes won't directly apply, but any employer with workers receiving EI parental benefits should be aware that those benefits will now continue flowing even after a child's death. Business size doesn't matter — any federally regulated employer, from a small trucking company to a large airline, must comply with the updated leave provisions.