‘I just want answers’: Pregnant woman on Vancouver Island fears CERB won’t be there for her
Posted May 1, 2020 5:23 pm.
Last Updated May 1, 2020 6:08 pm.
NANAIMO (NEWS 1130) — A pregnant woman on Vancouver Island who is out of work due to COVID-19 is only getting half the government support she was expecting, an added financial challenge during what has already been a difficult pregnancy.
Sarah Erickson had been working as an esthetician in Nanaimo in the days before her workplace was shut down due to the virus, as the province ordered businesses offering personal services to close.
But because she missed a few days due to sickness before the March 15 cutoff for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit — she’s been put on Employment Insurance instead at a lower rate. Her last day at work before getting sick “with flu-like symptoms” was March 10.
“Because I’m only a part-time worker, it’s half of what I would have been getting with the CERB,” says Erickson. “I would have qualified otherwise according to the new guidelines, but I can’t get through to anybody to switch it over. Nobody I’ve talked to [at Service Canada] can give me an answer as to why I don’t qualify for it or why I’m not getting it.”
She had planned to work all the way through to the end of May so she could keep money coming in, and maximize time off with her newborn.
“I just want answers,” says Erickson.
“I want to know why I can’t switch over. I haven’t been able to get a straight answer from anybody whether or not I’ll even get maternity leave and if I do get maternity leave, if I get a full year with my baby or I’ll have to go back early. I had planned to work as long as I possibly could so I get as much time with her as I could.”
Adding to Erickson’s stress — if she doesn’t qualify for the CERB, she can’t get the one-time thousand dollar support from the provincial government.
“It’s stressful,” says Erickson. “I definitely I have bills of my own that I’m not paying, and a baby on the way that I’m not ready for.”
NEWS 1130 has contacted the federal government for clarification on whether Erickson will be moved over the CERB program.
