Statement made on 15 February 2011 by Senator Elizabeth Hubley
Hon. Elizabeth Hubley:
Honourable senators, the increased participation of women in the paid workforce has been one of the most significant social trends in Canada in the past quarter-century. Several years ago I introduced an inquiry in this chamber concerning the need to improve maternity and parental benefits. In that inquiry I spoke at length about the need to extend maternity and parental benefits to the self-employed. As of January 2011, self-employed persons can opt-in to the special benefits programs under Employment Insurance, including maternity and parental benefits.
Like the improvements that were made to the program under the Liberal government in 2001 increasing the benefit to 50 weeks, this initiative certainly will assist new parents and their children. However, despite these changes in the past decade, there is still room for more improvement. There are other steps Canada can take immediately to support new families.
I agree with honourable senators who have participated in this inquiry that a thorough review is desirable. However, removing the mandatory two-week waiting period for maternity and parental benefits could go a long way to helping parents during these critical first two weeks right now. This simple and immediate measure could be taken to alleviate the financial stresses placed on new parents.
For low-income parents who rely exclusively on these benefits, the two-week waiting period without benefits is an unnecessary strain. Although there are valid reasons perhaps for maintaining a two-week waiting period for regular employment insurance benefits, these same reasons do not apply to maternity and parental benefits. Comparing the waiting period with the deductible for any kind of insurance overlooks the fact that maternity and parental benefits are not just any kind of insurance; they are Canada's investment in a child during their extremely important first year of life. Forcing parents to scramble to cover their new child expenses during this critical initial two weeks is an unnecessary burden and undermines Canada's commitment to its new citizen.
Eliminating these two weeks of financial stress for new parents would be easy to do and would not require an increase in overall benefits. It would simply provide the benefits that parents are already entitled to receive sooner — when they need them. This simple change is a positive step in the right direction to improving maternity and parental benefits and, ultimately, to building a stable, adequate system of support for families.
I applaud my colleague from Prince Edward Island, Senator Callbeck, for calling the attention of the Senate to this important issue. I would hope the government would move not only to eliminate the two-week waiting period, but also to undertake a thorough review of measures that enhance the economic security of women and children. We need to give our children the best start we can; they deserve no less.