We had a great surprise in beginning of November!  Our little daughter decided to start her life five weeks early.  It came as a complete surprise to us, including my wife who was in the middle of many projects at her work.  She thought she would have a few more weeks to at least complete the projects or to hand over.

What the arrival also meant was an unexpected lost of four weeks of my wife’s wages before she went off on her one year maternity leave.  After applying for a the Canadian Employment Insurance (Maternity) Benefits in November 2011, its January 2012 now, and we are still waiting for the first payment.  With some savings on hand, we are very lucky to be able to afford to wait for the first payment.  I feel bad for the people  who live pay cheque to pay cheque or the people who need that money to for food or shelter.  How do these people wait for 2+ months without any income?

Before Christmas, there was some news reported that 90,000 Canadians were waiting for their EI benefits.  Some were waiting up to three months before their claims were processed?  Why is there such a long wait?  How long have you been waiting?

Sleepydad will keep you updated on the payment and how long the wait currently is.