8.14.An employee may be absent from work for a period of not more than 27 weeks over a period of 12 months where the employee must stay with a relative, other than the employee’s minor child, or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver, as attested by a professional working in the health and social services sector and governed by the Professional Code (chapter C-26), because of a serious and potentially mortal illness, attested by a medical certificate.