QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Parental Leave—Employment Insurance
October 24, 2024
Senator Gold, every year, 3,000 women who have the misfortune of losing their job after taking parental leave are then deemed ineligible for EI. This is totally unacceptable. The problem is that benefits provided under the Quebec parental insurance plan are counted as weeks of EI. The same thing happens elsewhere in Canada with maternity benefits and parental benefits. Imagine the distress that these women feel on returning from maternity leave only to discover that they are going to lose $668 a week in EI benefits on top of losing their job.
Can the government representative grasp how absurd it is that the EI system fails to distinguish between parental leave and periods of unemployment, leaving thousands of women and their children vulnerable?
Thank you for the question, and thank you also for drawing the Senate’s attention to this very real problem. The government has acknowledged this problem and its disproportionate impact on women. As I understand it, the government remains committed to modernizing EI in order to resolve this problematic situation.
Our EI system has been under review for months, if not years. The federal government is responsible for this situation. It created the problem by using the EI system to develop a family policy. Women on maternity leave are not unemployed. The solution is simple. The government should just modify EI to treat maternity, parental and adoption benefits as employment income in the event of a layoff.
Will the government finally correct this inequity that puts women and young families at risk?
Thank you for the question. As I said, the government remains committed to modernizing EI. However, given the current and short-term economic context, it is inadvisable to take any measures that could put pressure on EI premiums, and the government must reflect carefully before making any decisions that could make matters worse for workers and employers who are trying to make ends meet.
