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OTTAWA -- A group of mothers who say they were wrongly denied sickness benefits are breaking their silence as the federal Liberal government continues to fight them in court despite a promise to do otherwise.
The Liberals said during last year's election campaign that they would drop federal opposition to a lawsuit involving thousands of Canadians who were denied benefits to which they were entitled while on maternity leave.
Jennifer McCrea, the Calgary woman at the heart of the case, says she and others involved have remained largely silent, hoping the government would acquiesce once a few months had passed and ministers were well-versed on their portfolios.
But the Liberals have dragged their heels, said McCrea, who is now breaking her silence.
"They used the words, 'We will end this immediately,"' she said in a telephone interview.
"I would ask them to give me a definition of the word 'immediately.' 'Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau, define the word immediately, because a year is not immediately. It's just not."'
In a statement being released Tuesday, the lawyer representing the women in their $450-million class-action lawsuit calls on the Liberals to stop fighting women who were gravely ill when they tried to claim benefits they were owed.
Stephen Moreau said the Liberals have taken no steps to end the legal battle, which has been going on for four years and could take years more to get to trial.
Figures provided to Parliament in March showed the government had spent more than $2.2 million in legal fees to fight the case.
Parliament decided in 2002 to allow those who were diagnosed with cancer, for instance, to access 15 extra weeks of employment insurance payments in addition to a year's worth of maternity leave benefits.
McCrea's claim alleges that at least 3,177 people were denied the EI benefit between 2002 and 2011, herself included.
McCrea was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2011, while she was on maternity leave with her youngest son, Logan, who was eight months at the time. She had a double mastectomy in August 2011 and was deemed cancer-free shortly afterwards.
This year marks five years of being cancer-free, a milestone she is marking by running five marathons over the course of the year.
Logan is now entering Grade 1. McCrea said she expected Logan to be in preschool when the case was settled.
"We are no closer to a settlement than we were...when (former prime minister Stephen) Harper was there."
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Originally Posted by ZR
