Changes are coming to the Quebec's parental leave insurance plan.
The Liberals say they want to give parents the option to spread out their benefits over a two-year period, rather than limiting the time frame to one year after the birth of a child.
The aim is to give young families a better work-life balance, said Premier Philippe Couillard.
“You know in my generation, work was everything. Work, work, work, work - to the extent that sometimes, you don't spend a lot of time with your family. And I regret it. I wish I would have spent more time at certain moments with my family. Now the younger generations tell us, ‘We don't want to live like this,’” he said.
Under the current basic provincial plan, mothers receive 18 weeks and fathers receive five weeks at 70 per cent of their salary.
“What this adds is flexibility,” said Couillard. “The possibility to stretch a bit the time off with your child, to come back progressively. For example, someone could elect to come back progressively at four days a week. I know a lot of young families that tell me they wish they would have had this capacity to choose that way of coming back to work.”
The Liberals intend to table a bill on the issue in the spring session, which starts next week.
