From the time he first came to Canada nearly 30 years ago, Uddam worked hard to help build a better life. The first member of his family to leave India, Uddam struggled with English and naturally gravitated towards his community and workplaces where his native language, Punjabi, was spoken. For almost 30 years, Uddam worked in manual labour jobs in Calgary. He and his wife, Balpreet, had two children shortly after settling in Calgary and they worked many jobs at once to provide for their family and to send money to needy relatives back home.

Over the summer of 2023, Uddam was laid off temporarily. This was the first time since coming to Canada that he had lost his job, so Uddam reached out to some friends in his community about applying for Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits. Although Uddam could not read English, his friends showed him which boxes to tick off when he was completing his reporting and he felt he had a good understanding of the process.

After a few weeks of unemployment, Uddam was called back to work, but upon his return, he became very unwell and could not perform his duties His employers sent him home and advised him to apply for EI sickness benefits, which he did. When it came time to complete biweekly reporting, Uddam assumed that he was supposed to report the same way he had done when receiving regular benefits. Because of his language barrier, he didn’t realize that he was incorrectly reporting to Service Canada that he was “ready, willing and able” to work.

After a few weeks, Service Canada cut off his benefits and informed him that he had to repay the money he received under his sickness claim. This was extremely stressful for Uddam and Balpreet , who were already struggling to get by on EI and Balpreet’s income alone. Fortunately, a friend recommended that they reach out to the Workers’ Resource Centre.

Uddam and Balpreet visited the Workers’ Resource Centre at its Genesis Centre location in Northeast Calgary and had an appointment with a caseworker named Rubina, who spoke Punjabi. After reviewing the documents from Service Canada, Rubina quickly identified the issue, and explained to the couple what had happened.

“Due to the language barrier, as well as some cultural barriers, they were not able to express themselves to Service Canada representatives in English to explain the depth of the problem,” says Rubina. She advocated for Uddam by submitting a request for reconsideration with Service Canada in light of the barriers Uddam faced resulting in incorrect reporting and delays in correspondence.

Rubina worked with Uddam and Balpreet to provide the appropriate documentation to prove that Uddam was in fact entitled to EI Sickness Benefits. His file was adjusted. Service Canada agreed that Uddam would not have to repay the money he had received and reinstated his sickness benefits.

For Balpreet, who speaks limited English, having Rubina’s support, especially in the language that she and her husband were most comfortable communicating in, was a huge relief. “She’s very, very helpful, she is very, very nice. She looks like my family member. I really appreciate her,” says Balpreet. “She speaks my language, that is why I like her.”

Disclaimer: the names of the client and his partner have been changed to protect their privacy.