IN THE MATTER OF the Employment Insurance Act,
S.C. 1996, c. 23
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IN THE MATTER OF a claim for unemployment benefits
by Kimberly Godbout
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IN THE MATTER OF an appeal by the
Claimant from a decision of the Board of Referees
given on July 14, 1998 at Fredericton, New Brunswick
Appeal heard at Fredericton, New Brunswick on January 26, 1999
DECISION
THE HON. R. C. STEVENSON, UMPIRE
The Commission ruled that Ms. Godbout was disqualified from receiving unemployment. insurance benefits because she had voluntarily left her employment on May 2, 1998 without just cause. She appealed to the Board of Referees which dismissed her appeal and she now appeals to the Umpire.
It is not disputed that Ms. Godbout voluntarily left the job she had had for 13 years as a pharmacy assistant in Whitby, Ontario. The issue is whether she had just cause to leave.
McAdam, New Brunswick is Ms. Godbout's hometown. Her mother who is 69 years of age lives there and her health is declining. Ms. Godbout decided to leave her job to return to McAdam to care for her mother.
In her written appeal to the Board of Referees Ms. Godbout said her mother lives alone and had been in hospital during the previous two winters. She said she had decided to reside with her mother and would be cooking meals, shopping, looking after her mother's medication, getting her to the doctor, looking after her finances, housekeeping, property maintenance, etc. She also said she was looking for and expected to find a full time job. She submitted a note from her mother's doctor stating that Mrs. Godbout had been sickly the past two or three winters with pneumonia and that "Kim quit her job in Oshawa to come down here to take care of her until she gets on her feet again". In a later interview with a Commission employee Ms. Godbout said her mother had been diagnosed as having congestive heart disease for which she was taking medication. She said she was available for full time work but feels she needs to be with her mother for meals, nights, weekends, etc.
The Board of Referees said:
It seems evident that the claimant simply made a personal choice to return to New Brunswick to be with her mother. Although this may be considered good cause and is commendable it is not just cause.
At the hearing of the present appeal Ms. Godbout was represented by counsel. He had submitted a written inquiry to Mrs. Godbout's doctor which elicited the following response:
1. In and about April/98 Dorothy was treated for congestive heart failure, bronchopneumonia and exacerbation of a chronic bronchitic lung condition.
2. Prognosis of her illness is guarded. She needs to continue to treat her frequent bronchitis, especially in the fall and winter, as she is used to having chest colds / bronchitis almost every year. She needs to take antibiotic and other medications on a permanent basis.
3. Given her medical condition, it is highly probable that she can have a recurrence or exacerbation of her heart failure or bronchitis.
4. She was last admitted and treated in hospital on March 6/98 in DECH for acute exacerbation of bronchitis, right lower lobe pneumonia and congestive heart failure. She stayed until May 12/98 and treated with intravenous antibiotic and ventolin aerosols, stopped smoking and to monitor her oxygen saturation for follow-up. The condition can be serious and she will need some help with her housekeeping.
This evidence is admissible under the principles stated by the Federal Court of Appeal in Dubois v. Canada (Employment-Insurance Commission). [1998] F.C.J. No. 768.
Although Ms. Godbout has siblings who live in the area they have families of their own and she is the one who is available to care for her mother.
The Board of Referees erred in law in not considering whether Ms. Godbout had an obligation to care for her mother. The obligation to care for a member of one's immediate family is one of the circumstances enumerated in paragraph 29(c) of the Employment Insurance Act for which regard may be had in considering whether a claimant had just cause to leave her employment in the sense that she had no reasonable alternative to leaving.
It goes without saying that one who relies on that obligation as giving rise to just cause must establish that the family member requires care. While the evidence on that point before the Board of Referees was sparse, the report from Dr. Lam received at the present hearing is sufficient to establish the fact. I see no need to remit the matter to the Board of Referees. It is an appropriate case for the Umpire to give the decision that the Board of Referees would have given if it had had the evidence that has now been presented. I find that Ms. Godbout had just cause to voluntarily leave her employment.
The appeal is allowed and the disqualification is set aside.
RONALD C. STEVENSON
Umpire
FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK
February 5, 1999