Quebec fathers and self-employed men get paid parental leave

Community Action, March 21, 2005

MONTREAL -- Quebec fathers will get five weeks of parental leave to spend with their children and self-employed persons also benefit because the federal government and Quebec have an agreement that accommodates Quebec's parental insurance plan with Canada's employment insurance system. The deal signed by four cabinet ministers from Quebec and Ottawa is more generous than the Employment Insurance-based program used elsewhere in Canada.

The changes include:

* five weeks of paid parental leave,

* self-employed parents who are new parents will get paid time off work with the birth of a child,

* elimination of the two-week waiting period to receive benefits,

* a choice for new mothers: take a larger income for a shorter leave, or take a smaller percentage of their usual income for a period just short of a year.

To accommodate the arrangement the federal government is reducing El premiums of workers and employers in the province so that the Quebec government can collect premiums for its own program.

Non-residents of Quebec (such as foreign workers in Quebec) will continue to be covered by Employment Insurance maternity and parental benefits.

Quebec Family Minister Michelle Courchesne says the program will boost the province's birth rate. which has lagged behind the rest of Canada.

The agreement affects approximately 80,000 people per year in Quebec.

The new program begins on Jan. 1, 2006.