Parental leave needs closer look

STUDY SAYS LIBERALS SHOULD CONSIDER OVERHAUL OF PARENTAL LEAVE BENEFITS

Anew study says the Liberal government should rethink federal parental benefits and overhaul a system that leaves out too many families and women, while ditching the idea of dedicated time off for new dads.

As is, the study says, there is a cohort of new parents, particularly mothers, who don’t qualify for benefits because employment insurance rules require them to have worked a specific number of hours in the previous year.

Others can’t qualify because they are selfemployed or freelancers — a problem likely to increase with the widening of the “gig” economy. Self-employed parents can voluntarily opt-in to the employment insurance system in order to qualify for parental benefits, but the study says the take up is low.

Looking even closer at the numbers, the study released Wednesday by the Institute for Research on Public Policy found that parents from lower and modest income homes — those the federal government would consider as hoping to join the middle class — don’t take benefits for a full year.

The study’s author said it all leads to questions of how inclusive the parental leave system really is and whether a change in rules would mean parents aren’t forced back to work sooner than they are meant to in order to make ends meet.

“Access to paid benefits, job-protected leave and then child care means that women can move back into the workforce after having kids,” said Jennifer Robson, an assistant professor of political management at Carleton University.

“But I think there’s also this issue of, is the system right now working in a way that gives equitable coverage both on getting into the system but also being able to actually maximize the use of the benefits?”

Robson said the federal government should consider taking parental benefits out of the employment insurance system and give it a new federal program to ensure that more parents can qualify for benefits. The paper also suggests the government look for ways to not force new parents to totally sever themselves from the labour force in order to receive the EI benefits.

The timing of the study comes as the Liberals explore changes to the federal parental leave program, including extending federal parental leave to 18 months.