Region backs missing woman’s family
Council calling on feds to change EI rules to allow people to search for missing relatives
Niagara will be appealing to Ottawa to relax Employment Insurance requirements for people search- ing for missing loved ones.
The father of missing St. Catharines woman Ashley Simpson, who disappeared last spring on the West Coast, told Niagara’s regional council Thursday night that the emotional and financial toll of searching for his daughter is devastating his family.
John Simpson’s 32-year-old daughter went missing in British Columbia.
He left his job to join the search for his daughter.
When he returned and tried to collect EI, he was told going to search for his daughter wasn’t a good enough reason to quit his job.
The reason: he couldn’t prove Ashley’s disappearance is crimerelated, even though the RCMP has assigned a major crimes unit to the case and is not ruling out foul play.
Smith was granted his EI benefits after an appeal, but he can’t leave the province to search for her because he is supposed to be looking for a job.
Ashley was last seen on April 27, 2016. She lived in Salmon Arm with her boyfriend after working for the winter season at Buffalo Inn in Pink Mountain.
Regional council voted 27-0 Thursday night to support a motion to draft a letter that will ask the federal government for a new category of EI benefits for families who are searching for missing loved ones.
Welland resident Steven Soos represented the family at Thursday’s meeting.
“It is of the highest importance that Niagara regional council act to ensure the fight to find Ashley never stops,” he said.
“However, after 10 months, income supports for her family to continue their search for answers is dwindling.”
Soos told council there is very little to no infrastructure in place for missing persons.
He asked the regional chairman draft a letter to the Ontario Min- istry of Labour, also, asking that it amend the Employment Standards Act to provide the families of missing loved ones the same support as they would even if the disappearance is not yet proven to be crimerelated under reasonable circumstances.
The Employment Standards Act does provide for 52 weeks of leave for crime-related disappearance and 106 for crime-related death, councillors heard.