An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code (adoptive and intended parents)
Bill C-318 in 44-1 was a Conservative Private Member's Bill amending the Employment Insurance Act (S.C. 1996, c. 23) and the Canada Labour Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. L-2) to extend EI parental benefits and the corresponding CLC unpaid-leave entitlement to adoptive parents on the same basis as biological parents. Currently EI provides 15 weeks of maternity benefits (exclusively for the birth mother) plus 35 weeks of standard or 61 weeks of extended parental benefits (sharable between parents). Adoptive parents only access the parental portion. The bill called for parity by extending the 15-week pregnancy-related benefits to adoptive parents. The 2024 federal budget partially adopted the proposal, adding 15 weeks of new adoption-related EI benefits.
Status
Quick learn
Would give adoptive and intended parents the same EI benefit weeks and job-protected leave that birth parents get, closing a gap of about 15 weeks. A Conservative private member's bill; the measure was later picked up by the government.
Issues this bill touches
- Gender Equality & Reproductive Rights
Gives adoptive and intended parents the same 15-week EI parental-benefit pool currently reserved for birth mothers.
Legislative history
- First reading
First reading in the House of Commons.
View source - Second reading
Second reading in the House of Commons.
View source
Official source
Read full text on Parliament of Canada