Brenda Blais

Brenda Blais identifies as a “life-long caregiver” having grown up with a disabled brother and supporting her late parents.  Her most impactful and unexpected caregiving experience though, started the moment her daughter, Nikki, was born with multiple complex impairments due to brain damage, 32 years ago.  

Brenda did her best to juggle her career as a medical office administrator and care for Nikki. As Nikki’s health needs increased and Brenda’s work no longer provided the flexibility she required to meet Nikki’s needs, she made the difficult choice to leave her career to care for Nikki full-time. 

“Nikki required one-on-one medical care and I was the best person to do it. When I was more available for her care, she had a better quality of life and was out of the hospital for longer periods of time. The care I gave Nikki was not only a great benefit to us, it was also a great benefit to the system.” 

In leaving her career, Brenda not only sacrificed her earned income, she forfeited access to medical benefits and regular contributions to her pension and the Canadian Pension Plan. Though she worried about this, she felt that there was no other way to meet Nikki’s needs. Now, she’s feeling the impact of that decision.  

Out of the workforce for two decades and now in her fifties, Brenda feels as though she is starting over. “I feel very pressured make up 20 years of lost retirement contributions. After contributing greatly to the health system and providing my daughter with 24/7 care for almost 30 years, I feel penalized because my CPP doesn’t reflect my decades of “extreme caregiving”.” 

Sadly, Nikki passed away in 2022. Brenda doesn’t regret the sacrifices she made to give Nikki the best and fullest life possible. She just wishes that her contributions were appreciated and recognized in ways that would have helped ease the strain of it all and truly made a difference in reducing the financial, physical, and emotional strain that caregivers are left to carry on their own in isolation. 

 “Nikki taught me and so many others about the importance of living life in the present, appreciating what we have, being grateful, and finding joy, paradoxically, in the simplest of pleasures, and in adversity. Being able to care for her was the biggest honour of my life. I threw my heart and soul into giving her the best and advocating for the best.” 

When asked about the importance of a National Caregiving Strategy, Brenda said “A National Caregiving Strategy is not only a compassionate response to the realities faced by millions of Canadian caregivers, but also a strategic investment in the sustainability of our health care system. Unpaid caregivers contribute up to $112 billion in care annually, saving the system billions of dollars in hospitalizations, long-term care, and emergency services. Caregivers need recognition for that and the opportunity to feel supported in their roles. When they are supported, they thrive and so do the people they care for.” 

-Brenda Blais is the co-chair of CCCE’s Canadian Caregiving Advisory Network and lives in London, Ontario