Being Sick Is Hard Enough — Don't Let the Medical Certificate Make It Harder 生病已经够难受了，别让"开证明"再折磨你一次

Taking a sick day or two is usually simple. Taking several weeks or months off work is a different thing entirely — and for most people, the hardest part isn't the paperwork for Employment Insurance. It's getting the medical certificate that goes with it. 请一两天病假通常很简单。但要连续请假数周甚至数月，事情就完全不一样了——而对大多数人来说，最难的往往不是填 EI 表格，而是拿到那份配套的"医生证明"。

For eligible workers in Canada, Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits provide temporary income support during an illness or injury, for up to 26 weeks. You've been paying premiums off every paycheque for exactly this situation. But in Ontario, doctor shortages, long appointment waits and delayed diagnostic testing can turn a straightforward medical leave into a much longer process. 对符合资格的加拿大劳动者来说，因病或受伤无法工作时，就业保险（EI）病假津贴可提供最长 26 周的临时收入支持。你每份工资单里扣掉的保费，正是为了这一刻。但在安省，家庭医生短缺、预约周期长、检查排期慢，常常把一次本该简单的病假，拖成一个漫长的过程。

Ontario's doctor shortage makes this a real problem安省的家庭医生短缺，让这件事更难

According to the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), more than 2.3 million Ontarians did not have a family doctor in 2024, and the OMA projected that number could reach 3 million by 2026. 根据安大略省医学会（OMA）的数据，2024 年安省有超过 230 万居民没有家庭医生，OMA 并预计到 2026 年这一数字可能达到 300 万。

For someone who suddenly can't work, that matters. A construction worker with a serious back injury, a warehouse worker with an injured hand, or a personal support worker who can't lift patients can't simply wait two or three weeks for an appointment — they need to stop working now. 对突然无法工作的人来说，这一点非常现实。严重腰伤的建筑工人、手部受伤的仓储工人、无法搬动患者的护理员——他们没办法等上两三周才看到医生，他们明天就得停工。

A walk-in clinic is another option, but the physician there often has limited knowledge of your history and only a short appointment to assess the problem. And longer medical leave can require stronger clinical evidence — an X-ray, MRI, blood test or specialist assessment, each of which takes time to arrange. Walk-in 诊所是另一个选择，但接诊医生往往不了解你的既往病史，问诊时间也很短。而较长的病假通常需要更充分的临床依据——X 光、核磁共振、化验或专科评估，每一项都需要时间安排。

The result is a gap: you need to stop working now, but the medical evidence and documentation can take weeks to catch up. 于是就出现了一个断层：你现在就必须停工，但医学证据和相关文件却要几周后才跟得上。

EI sickness benefits: the numbersEI 病假津贴：具体数字

EI sickness benefits provide temporary financial support to eligible people who can't work because of illness, injury, quarantine or another medical reason. Here's how it works. EI 病假津贴为因疾病、受伤、隔离或其他医学原因无法工作的合资格人士，提供临时经济支持。基本规则如下。

To put the maximum in context: in 2024, maximum insurable annual earnings were $63,200, which produced a maximum EI sickness benefit of $668 per week — or $17,368 across a full 26 weeks for someone receiving the maximum. 举个例子说明上限：2024 年，最高年度可保收入为 63,200 加元，对应的 EI 病假津贴上限为每周 668 加元——按满 26 周计算，领取最高额度者最多可累计约 17,368 加元。

This is not a small program这不是一个小众项目

Based on Employment and Social Development Canada reporting and related analysis, more than 400,000 workers submit EI sickness benefit claims in Canada each year. 根据加拿大就业和社会发展部（ESDC）的报告及相关分析，加拿大每年有超过 40 万名劳动者提交 EI 病假津贴申请。

The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimated that extending the maximum benefit period from 15 to 26 weeks would add roughly $1.1 billion in annual federal spending, covering more than 169,000 beneficiaries, at about $6,500 in additional support per affected beneficiary. 加拿大国会预算办公室（PBO）估算，仅将最长领取期限由 15 周延长至 26 周这一项，每年就会增加约 11 亿加元的联邦支出，覆盖超过 16.9 万名受益人，平均每位受益人多获得约 6,500 加元的支持。

Those figures are worth knowing for two reasons. They show this is a major part of Canada's income-support system — and they explain why the paperwork gets scrutinized. 了解这些数字有两个意义：它说明这是加拿大收入保障体系中相当重要的一环；也解释了为什么相关材料的审核会比较严格。

The medical certificate is usually the critical step医生证明，往往才是关键环节

A medical certificate supports the period during which you're medically unable to work. It needs to clearly support the absence and contain the information the claim requires — typically a clear work-stop date and an expected return-to-work date, signed by a licensed physician or nurse practitioner. 医生证明用于支持你在医学上无法工作的这段期间。它必须清楚支持这次请假，并包含申请所需的信息——通常包括明确的停工日期和预计复工日期，并由持牌医生或执业护士签署。

When something is missing, the claim comes back for follow-up: another appointment, another form, another wait. For someone already living without regular employment income, an extra month of delay is not a small thing. Three problems cause most of it. 一旦有信息缺失，申请就会被退回补件：再约一次医生、再补一份表、再等一轮。对已经断了固定收入的人来说，多拖一个月绝不是小事。造成拖延的主要有三个原因。

1. The doctor doesn't know what your job actually involves1. 医生并不了解你的工作到底要做什么

A medical condition doesn't affect every occupation equally. A hand injury might let an office employee keep working but stop a mechanic, warehouse worker, cook or personal support worker from doing the job safely. Tell the doctor exactly what your work involves: 同样的伤病，对不同职业的影响完全不同。手部受伤，办公室职员可能照常上班，但技工、仓储工人、厨师或护理员就无法安全完成工作。所以要具体告诉医生你的工作内容：

• Heavy lifting需要重体力搬运
• Prolonged standing长时间站立
• Repetitive movement重复性动作
• Driving驾驶
• Operating machinery操作机械
• Working with one or both hands需要单手或双手操作
• Physically assisting other people需要搬动或搀扶他人

The medical assessment needs the real occupational context to be accurate. 医生需要了解真实的工作场景，才能作出准确的评估。

2. The medical evidence isn't ready yet2. 医学证据还没到位

A physical examination alone doesn't always establish the full extent of an injury. Some cases need X-rays, MRI imaging, lab testing or a specialist assessment. Long diagnostic waits create a practical problem: you've already stopped working, but the objective clinical evidence is still pending. 单靠体格检查，未必能确定伤情的完整程度。有些情况需要 X 光、核磁共振、化验或专科评估。而检查排期过长会带来一个现实问题：你已经停工了，客观的临床证据却还没出来。

3. The certificate itself is incomplete3. 证明本身填得不完整

A doctor's note and an EI medical certificate serve different purposes. A basic note saying "unable to work for medical reasons" may not contain everything an EI sickness claim needs. Missing information means follow-up requests, more appointments and delayed payment. 普通的医生便条和 EI 医生证明用途不同。一句"因医学原因无法工作"的简单说明，未必包含 EI 病假申请所需的全部要素。信息缺失就意味着补件通知、额外的问诊，以及款项延迟。

Common questions常见问题

How Careby helps康伴能提供什么帮助

Being sick is disruptive enough. Finding a doctor, arranging tests, chasing results and obtaining documentation shouldn't turn into a second full-time job. Careby coordinates access to healthcare services through a single process: 生病本身已经够折腾了。找医生、约检查、追结果、拿文件，不该再变成另一份全职工作。康伴把这些环节整合到一个流程里：

• Appointments in 1–2 days. Careby can typically coordinate access to a licensed healthcare professional within one to two days, including virtual consultations where appropriate — instead of the two- or three-week wait many people face.1 至 2 天内安排看诊。康伴通常能在一到两天内协助安排持牌医疗专业人员看诊，情况合适时可通过在线问诊进行——而不必面对许多人遇到的两三周等待。
• Testing and follow-up in one process. When further investigation is medically required, Careby can help coordinate lab tests, X-rays and other imaging, and the medical follow-up afterward — so assessment, testing and follow-up stay connected instead of leaving you to chase every step.检查与跟进一站式安排。若医学上需要进一步检查，康伴可协助对接化验、X 光及其他影像检查，以及之后的复诊跟进——让评估、检查与跟进保持连贯，不必你自己一步步追。
• Documentation based on a clinical assessment. Where the treating healthcare professional determines that you are medically unable to work, appropriate medical documentation or a medical certificate can be provided based on that assessment.基于临床评估出具文件。如接诊的医疗专业人员判断你在医学上确实无法工作，可根据该评估出具相应的医疗文件或医生证明。

If you're also trying to work out what your workplace or private plan covers alongside EI, our benefits planning page walks through how the pieces fit together. 如果你还想弄清楚在 EI 之外，公司福利或私人保险计划分别能覆盖什么，可以看看我们的医疗福利规划页面。