Kayla De Francesco and Kassandra Bartlett immediately bonded on Facebook after realizing they had both been told they could not access the Canada Emergency Response Benefit because they are pregnant.
When a Service Canada agent told her she would have to start drawing down on her maternity employment insurance benefits even though her baby isn’t due until October, De Francesco said she started crying and had to hand the phone over to her husband. “It took literally all night for me to calm down,” she said.
Bartlett said she has received similar information from Service Canada. “It’s just added stress during a time when you’re not supposed to be stressing and control your blood pressure,” said Bartlett.