Lethbridge mother welcomes proposed changes to labour laws
A local mother whose story about losing her job while trying to provide care for her seriously ill son welcomed the proposed changes to Alberta’s labour laws on Wednesday.
“There was an unfairness here,” Amanda Jensen said. “Something that was unjust. It was incredulous to me that this outdated legislation existed.”
Jensen’s story of how she lost her job after trying to take a leave of absence to care for her son Jake, who has cancer, shone a light on a problem in the province with how families dealing with serious illness have had to shoulder additional work stresses.
Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray announced Bill 17: The Fair and Family Workplaces Act on Wednesday in an effort to fix some of those injustices.
“Earlier today, I sat down with Amanda Jensen, a mom who lost her job after she asked for unpaid time off to take care of a seven-year-old with leukemia, because there is no law to protect her,” Gray said at a press event.
She noted there have been many Albertans who have lost their jobs or been put under “great stress” when trying to take time off from a workplace in order to care for a loved one, or flee a domestic violence situation.
“Albertans should not have to choose between taking care of their family and keeping their job,” she said.
For Jensen, the past few months have been a whirlwind in terms of getting her story out and trying to help change the laws to better protect families.
“I certainly did not expect this,” she said.
“And it happened so quickly on top of it. Even in my wildest imagination, thinking we might be able to affect change by sharing our story — even that was a stretch, in my mind.
“But to have it happen inside of two weeks of our story hitting the media is just incredible.”
Jensen said she has received a lot of support from Gray.
“(Gray has) always been tremendously empathetic and caring about what we’ve gone through,” she said.
And while Gray was not able to be specific with the content of the bill at the time, Jensen was assured the bill would align with the rest of the country and federal employment insurance program.
“Specific to our situation, I have been informed in terms of specifics.
“And she was right, I am very happy with what has been proposed and it would have made all the difference in my life and in the lives of my children were it applicable to me a number of months ago.
“I’m so thrilled that it is going to make the lives of those coming after this family easier.”
Jensen said sharing her story was always about making sure other people would be protected from having a similar experience has been “life changing.”
“To think were this available to me in October when Jake was diagnosed, I could have focused solely on him and my other children, and supporting them through this terrorizing time we are going through.
“Instead, I had to worry about our future security.
“Knowing other families can do just that — focus on their fear and their learning, and everything that they have to go through when any diagnosis is given to a child is lifechanging.”
Jake is responding well to his treatments, but Jensen said he is not without symptoms and that some days are better than others.
She also said she would have never been able to try and have the laws changed if her son was not doing as well as he has been.
“If Jake were not doing well, I wouldn’t be in a position to pursue this,” she said.
She added she is grateful to have been able to share her story without fear, calling the effort and the resulting proposed changes “a gift.”
“It’s been so heartwarming to me to know that people care,” she said.
“It meant absolutely everything.”