(Quebec) Young municipal officials are calling for fairness in parental leave.
The Young Mothers Network at the Municipality met on Tuesday with Minister Andrée Laforest to ask her to change the law before the next municipal elections in 2025.
“Eighteen weeks of parental leave is archaic,” lamented the spokesperson for the Network and president of the executive committee of the City of Sherbrooke, Laure Letarte-Lavoie.
“If we want to attract competent people, but above all, if we do not want to lose them along the way, we must take a family approach,” added the elected official who is 37 weeks pregnant.
Currently, in Quebec, mothers can benefit from 50 weeks of leave under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). Four weeks of additional benefits are offered in certain cases.
However, municipal elected officials are only entitled to 18 weeks of leave, which corresponds to what was allocated to Quebec women in 1979, underlined Ms.me Letarte-Lavoie, who speaks of an “unfair” situation.
“For example, it will be almost impossible for me to choose to only breastfeed my child if I have to return to work after 18 weeks,” illustrated the elected official from Sherbrooke.
Its Network recommends increasing the number of weeks of parental leave “to match the 50 weeks of the RQAP that already exist”.
He also wants the government to allow remote participation and proxy voting, and to provide a national fund for hiring temporary support for absent elected officials.
Mme Letarte-Lavoie points out that in Ontario, the Municipal Act allows a municipal councilor to vote on behalf of another councilor, while respecting certain rules (“proxy voting”).
Furthermore, in Montreal, elected officials on parental leave can now benefit from the help of an administrative employee 25 hours per week, for 22 weeks.
These administrative employees cannot vote on the municipal council, but they can replace the elected official at meetings, answer citizens’ questions and participate in public activities.
Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Young Mothers Network at the Municipality – which calls for “clear guidelines for everyone” – described the meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs as “cordial”.
“We come away satisfied with the listening and the openness that was given to our requests,” she declared. For his part, Mme Laforest said she was “very sensitive” to the importance of work-family balance for municipal elected officials.
“I agreed with pleasure to meet the Young Mothers group at the Municipal this morning to hear their requests. I will take the time to analyze them with my teams,” said the minister in a written statement sent to the media.
In comparison, since 2022, thanks to a modification to the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, members of the National Assembly no longer risk being penalized if they are absent from parliament because they have just given birth to a child.
MPs continue to be paid during their absence (they are not eligible for QPIP benefits), but their responsibilities cannot be delegated and they must ensure a certain presence in their constituencies.
reference: www.lapresse.ca