Financial pressures preclude many sole practitioners and lawyers in smaller firms from taking extended parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child. Recognizing the importance of work-life balance to Canadian lawyers, the CBA asked the federal government to extend Employment Insurance maternity and parental leave benefits to self-employed persons.
The government listened, and help will soon be available through this program. In December 2009, the Employment Insurance Act was changed to permit all self-employed persons to claim “special benefits” – including not only maternity, parental, adoption benefits for parents, but sickness benefits for those unable to work because of sickness, injury or quarantine, and compassionate care benefits for those who must be temporarily absent from work to care for a family member who is gravely ill.
Several CBA branches are currently working with HRSDC to host information sessions on how the new changes could benefit members and their families.
CBA advocacy success
To build the case for extending EI benefits for maternity and parental leave to self-employed persons, the CBA engaged a leading statistician to estimate costs of a program. Extrapolating from the costs of including the self-employed under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, he found that including the self-employed under the existing EI scheme for maternity and parental benefits would likely increase beneficiaries by only 4% and costs by only 3%. The government noted CBA support last year when it announced its intent to extend income replacement for parental leave to more Canadian families.
Report and letter to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development from the CBA, dated Dec. 18, 2008 (.pdf)