Meanwhile in Calgary...

Doris DeGagne, a Calgary recreational therapist who was breastfeeding her daughter Danna, when she returned to work after a nine month maternity leave was fired from her job because she requested an extension of six months unpaid leave. Her request to have her daughter brought to her at the workplace for breastfeeding was also denied.

Ms. DeGagne, upset by her employer's decision, took Carewest a Calgary-based long-term care facility lodged a labour complaint. Following an arbitration hearing, Carewest was ordered to reinstate Ms. DeGagne and award her 6 months of back pay. The employer, ruled arbitrator John Moreau, "must exercise sufficient accommodation to allow for an employee to breastfeed in the workplace. Failure to do so means they are discriminating on the basis of sex".

The union that represented Ms. DeGagne, noted that employers must now consider a number of options to accommodate nursing mothers, including, the possibility of longer maternity leave. "Hopefully employers will understand this is to all of our benefit", noted Elizabeth Ballermann, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta. The union will use this decision to press the province to extend parental leave. Alberta employers are only required to keep a job open for 18 weeks compared to the federal government's one year of insured benefits.