{"id":264915,"date":"2017-03-15T12:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T16:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/building-flexibility-into-parental-leave\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T21:31:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:31:34","slug":"building-flexibility-into-parental-leave","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2017\/03\/building-flexibility-into-parental-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"Building flexibility into parental leave"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Liberals\u2019 election platform<\/a> promised to make it possible for parents to take up to 18 months of parental leave and to stop and restart their leave during that period if they wanted. Last fall, the government asked<\/a> Canadians for their views on each of those options, and late last month it issued a summary report on those consultations. In a new IRPP study, \u201cParental Leave in Canada: Which Way Forward?<\/a>\u201d I use data from the Employment Insurance Coverage Survey to look at how parental leave and benefits have been working in Canada and to consider options for policy changes.<\/p>\n

Currently, new parents have up to 12 months of job-protected leave under provincial or federal labour laws. But for most families, a year of unpaid leave is impossible without some kind of income support from the government. Parents who meet the eligibility rules can also claim special benefits under Employment Insurance (EI) or, in Quebec, the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP).<\/p>\n

The Quebec Parental Insurance Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Quebec, most new parents qualify for the parental insurance plan and they can choose between a longer leave (55 weeks in total) with lower benefits, or a shorter leave (43 weeks) with higher benefits. Birth or adoptive moms are entitled to 15 to 18 weeks of benefits, their spouses have between three and five weeks of benefits, and the rest of the benefits can be shared between parents. A little more than three-quarters of new moms collect benefits and in 59 percent of couple families both parents collect QPIP benefits. Actual benefits average about $500 per week for moms and a little over $600 per week for dads (who tend to have higher incomes).<\/p>\n

While the QPIP gets plaudits for its use-\u2019em-or-lose-\u2019em \u201cdaddy days,\u201d the plan also has other advantages when compared with benefits elsewhere in Canada: it is easier to qualify for benefits, parents can take benefits at the same time, and workers can negotiate with employers to divide the leave into blocks of time.<\/p>\n

Employment Insurance<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the rest of Canada, birth moms get 15 weeks of maternity benefits through Employment Insurance, and parents can share another 35 weeks. The maximum benefits are much lower than in Quebec, but average benefits paid are $430 per week. The eligibility criteria, which are based on work history, are less inclusive than in Quebec. Just two-thirds of new moms qualify for benefits, which are based on work history, and fewer than 5 percent of couple families report sharing EI benefits as new parents.<\/p>\n

One-third of couples collect no parental benefits, due to their work history (i.e., they haven\u2019t worked enough hours or are self-employed). Overall, the federal system is a lot less flexible than Quebec\u2019s. There\u2019s no option for couples to collect benefits at the same time, or to take benefits in blocks of time, or to choose between options on the duration and generosity of the benefits.<\/p>\n

There are good reasons to let parents spread their EI benefits over 18 months instead of 12. The extension would give families more flexibility to balance work and caregiving. It would also improve coordination with provincial child care systems, as the cost to run a child care space drops significantly after a child\u2019s 18th month. Some higher-income families are already taking this longer leave because they can afford it, but it\u2019s out of reach for other families. A longer, more flexible EI-funded leave, with job-protection, could help more families make the best choices for their own circumstances as they juggle work and caregiving.<\/p>\n

There are some implementation details that will make or break the government\u2019s proposed parental leave changes.<\/p>\n