Maternity Leave, Adieu

on December 13, 2010 11 Comments

Today is Monday, and I have decided to re-visit Mat Leave Monday for old time’s sake, and because I have an announcement to make.

Service Canada has announced the new maximum insurable earnings for Employment Insurance (EI) for 2011. This is the maximum level of earnings that you pay EI premiums on. And since maternity and parental benefits are paid out through EI (outside of Quebec), this change also affects the amount of money you may receive while you are on leave.

In 2010 maximum insurable earnings were $43,200, and in 2011 they will be $44,200. If your average annual income is $43,200 or less, this change won’t affect you. If it’s more, and if your EI claim begins anytime after the first week of January, then you can expect higher weekly benefits. In 2010 maximum weekly benefits were $457, and in 2010 they will be $468. So, if you are planning on starting your claim in the next few weeks and you can hold out until the New Year, it may be to your advantage to do so.

Maximum insurable earnings! EI! Links to Service Canada! It feels like old times.

Sadly, though, it is time for me to say good-bye to those times. I will not be updating my Quick Guide to Canadian Maternity Leave for 2011. Between Crafting my Life and my book dream, I have more than enough on my plate. And since the guide will be out-of-date in approximately three minutes, I have removed the links to it on my site. Although if you would like to access the 2010 version, you can download it here, knowing that it may not reflect the latest information.

This doesn’t meant that I’m no longer interested in maternity leave. I absolutely am. I still feel very strongly that maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave are critical for the health and well-being of babies and their parents. I still believe that a country’s policies surrounding these leaves reflect their commitment to new families. And I will still advocate for quality maternity benefits and do my best to answer questions that people pose to me. But I will not be actively working to provide up-to-date information to Canadian families.

I am sad to let go of this guide, but I know it is the right thing for me to do right now. Part of living with intention is setting priorities. And so I’m doing that here. I hope that the guide has been useful to the people who downloaded it, and I hope that you will join me as I move on to other adventures.

Have you ever had to let anything go because you recognized that you didn’t have time for it? What was that like? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Parental Leave and Twins (or More)

on May 17, 2010 18 Comments

Today I am bringing back Mat Leave Monday to talk about parental leave and parents of multiples in Canada. I have two children myself, but they were born 3 1/2 years apart. Parents of twins (or more) have my total respect – I can only imagine what it would be like to have more than one newborn to care for.

Multiple Births Canada holds their annual National Multiple Births Awareness Day on May 28. It’s a day for raising awareness of the unique issues faced by multiple-birth children and their families. The date chosen was the birth date of the Dionne quintuplets, who helped Canadians to understand the challenges faced by our multiple-birth community. Rather sadly so, as the choice wasn’t made freely by either the quintuplets or their family.


The Dionne Quintuplets
Photo credit: Statistics Canada, Canada Year Book Historical Collection

For 2010, the theme for National Multiple Births Awareness Day is:

“Canada’s EI Parental Leave must reflect the needs of multiple-birth infants.”

The maternity and parental leave laws in Canada do not allow any special consideration for parents of multiple-birth infants. Just like any other parents, the birth mother is eligible for 15 weeks of paid maternity benefits through EI, and both parents are eligible to share 35 weeks of paid parental benefits. Last year one couple, the parents of twins, challenged this rule. They argued that the mother should be eligible to claim parental leave to care for one child, and the father should be eligible to claim parental leave to care for the other child. The Employment Insurance board of referees agreed, but so far the laws have not changed, and other parents of twins would have to go to similar lengths to qualify for benefits.

Canada’s approach to maternity and parental leave for multiple births is not universal. Countries such as France, Japan, Portugal, Finland and Sweden offer extended benefits to parents of twins or higher-order multiples. And it sort of makes sense. I’ve had two children and I received 2 years of paid leave. If my neighbour had two children at the same time, she would only be eligible to receive half of that. As well, twin and super-twin pregnancies often face greater challenges, and it’s more common for babies to be born prematurely and require additional care. And no one can doubt that multiple-birth parents face a much greater adjustment, and require far more help.

So, what is happening on Multiple Births Awareness Day? Here is some information, taken from Multiple Births Canada’s website:

  • A rally on the lawn of Parliament Hill and local rallies in front of MP’s offices on Friday, May 28
  • A call for expectant parents of multiples to both apply for EI Parental Leave
  • A call for all supporters to send a letter to Human Resources and Social Development Canada

If you want to know more, or would like to get involved yourself, check out the event page.

We are very fortunate to have access to the maternity and parental benefits that we receive here in Canada. However, we don’t always do the best job of recognizing and providing for special cases. Multiple births are one example. It is my hope that, through campaigns like this one, that will change.

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Bellies to Babies Celebration

on April 3, 2010 18 Comments

I am very excited to say that I am going to be speaking at the Bellies to Babies Celebration in Vancouver! I am going to talk about maternity leave, which is one of my passions. I love talking about maternity leave. Maybe a little bit too much, but in this context it works so I’m golden. Plus it will give my poor husband’s ear a chance to rest. Is there a downside? I don’t think so.

Look, if you scroll down they even have my photo! I am especially thrilled to be sharing the podium with fabulous La Leche League Leaders Sandra and Monique who will be talking about breastfeeding, and Karen Randall from New and Green Baby who will be talking about cloth diapering. They will be a tough act to follow, but I will certainly try.

If you are in the area, I would love to see you. Here are all the pertinent details:

Date – Sunday, April 18, 2010
Celebration Hours – 11am-4pm
My Talk – 2-2:30pm
Cost – by donation to Basics for Babies
Location – Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive

Come early and check out the exhibitors and hear the other speakers. Then at 2:00pm be sure to catch me. I will give a mom’s eye view of how maternity leave works, what it covers and how to apply. I’ll also share some history and compare maternity leave in other countries. Like I said, I really love to talk about maternity leave.

Lara, the event organizer is a super-cool mama who taught me Strollerobics when Hannah was a baby and led my Salsa Babies class when Jacob was little. She is one dynamic woman! It means so much to me that she asked me to give this talk.

Now, please wish me luck! And if you are a local come on out and say hi – I would love to see some friendly faces.

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Maternity Leave in Maple Ridge

on March 6, 2010 17 Comments

Guess what! I have my first public appearance. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited this makes me. I am going to speaking about my passion, maternity leave, at the fabulous maternity and baby boutique Tiny Fingers Tiny Toes in Maple Ridge, BC. I love talking about maternity leave. In fact, if you ask my husband he might tell you I never stop talking about maternity leave, so I am thrilled to have the chance to share my pearls of wisdom with others. I promise, they will be pearly. Ish.

If you are in the area, I would love to see you. Here are all the pertinent details:

Date – Saturday, March 20, 2010
Time – 10:30am
Cost – $10 per person
Location – 11997 A 224th Street, Maple Ridge (street parking only)

To register, call the store at 604-466-8637. Space is limited, so call early and all that jazz. My talk will include an overview of how maternity leave works in Canada, a rundown of its history, and some discussion of the benefits parents and babies experience when they have access to quality leave. I will also address any questions that come up as best I can and coo over babies and / or expectant moms who show up. But that’s not all! Attendees also receive $10 in store credit to Tiny Fingers Tiny Toes, so when the presentation is over they can go shopping for some truly fabulous maternity and baby gear. Is there a downside? I don’t think so!

Stacy, the owner of the boutique, is a friend of mine and fellow breastfeeding advocate. She is an example to me of the kind of mama I would like to be – volunteering, running a business, raising a lovely family, supporting new families. It means so much to me that she asked me to give this talk. I am pretty much tickled all over, and my ego is growing to monumental proportions. So, hopefully, there will be room for it in the store.

Now, please wish me luck! And share words of wisdom if you have ever done anything like this before. Or, if you are a local come on out and say hi – I would love to see some friendly faces.

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Maternity Leave Eligibility for the Self-Employed

on February 1, 2010 12 Comments

Today I am revisiting Mat Leave Monday, because I have some very important information to share. If you are a self-employed Canadian who would like to be eligible for maternity or parental benefits, then you need to act now to opt into the EI system. (Note – If you live in Quebec you are already covered under QPIP as a self-employed person.)

Late last year the Fairness for the self-employed act was announced and passed in Canada. Under this act, self-employed Canadians who earn at least $6000 per year will be eligible to receive special benefits through EI starting in 2011. Special benefits include compassionate leave, sickness leave, maternity leave and parental leave. If you do not collect benefits, you will have the option of opting out at the end of any calendar year. Once you collect benefits, however, you must contribute to EI for as long as you remain self-employed.

How does one opt in? Service Canada’s information on special benefits for the self-employed states that the opt-in period began on January 31. To sign up you need to register for a My Service Canada Account. If you want to be eligible to receive special benefits beginning in January, 2011 you have to opt in by April 1, 2010. You can still opt in after April 1, but then your eligibility will take a full calendar year instead of happening next January.

Once you’ve opted in, you will pay your premiums, which are $1.73 / $100 of insurable earnings, with your 2010 tax return. You only pay premiums on the first $43,200 you earn annually, since that is the maximum insurable income level under EI for 2010. Premiums and maximum insurable earnings are typically re-examined annually.

If you’re self-employed and you think you might like to start a family in 2011, this is the time to opt in and sign up for benefits. It’s a good idea to think ahead as much as possible since you need to pay premiums for a full year before collecting, so if you’re holding a positive pregnancy test in your hand it may already be too late to receive your maximum benefits. However, even in that situation you may be eligible for some portion of maternity or parental leave, as you remain eligible for a full year after the baby arrives – so keep that in mind!

On a personal note, I am thrilled that the self-employed and small business owners are finally eligible for maternity and parental leave in Canada. While they undoubtedly face special challenges in taking time away from work, they are no less deserving than any other parent.

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Updated Canadian Maternity Leave Guide

on January 18, 2010 4 Comments

Today I am revisiting Mat Leave Monday, because I have updated my super-cool and totally fun Quick Guide to Canadian Maternity Leave for 2010.

In case you aren’t familiar with it, I ran a series of posts about maternity leave every Monday while I was on my last maternity leave. I enjoyed it immensely, and I learned loads about maternity leave in Canada and around the world. I also wrote a gorgeous e-book about how maternity and parental leave work in Canada. It’s a brief overview of the system, along with some fun but non-authoritative information on who qualifies, how much you’ll earn and how to apply. Here’s what you get when you download the guide:

  • It explains how maternity and parental leave work in Canada.
  • It outlines who qualifies for maternity and parental benefits, and who doesn’t.
  • It includes a flow chart and links to help you plan your leave.
  • It explains when and how to apply for EI.
  • It incorporates the phrase ‘show me the money’, which really never gets old.
  • It includes some fun facts about maternity and parental leave.

    • You don’t have to take my word for it on the guide, either. You can ready my interview with the amazing Ann Douglas where we talk about the guide and why I wrote it at The Quick Guide to Maternity Leave – and the Mom Who Wrote It. You can also see it profiled on the fabulous maternity resource yoyobelly in By Your Leave.

    You can find the guide at Quick Guide to Canadian Maternity Leave.

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    Maternity Leave for the Self-Employed Announced

    on November 9, 2009 9 Comments

    Today I am re-visiting Mat Leave Monday, because there was a major announcement last week that affects maternity leave in Canada.

    On November 3, the federal Conservatives introduced The Fairness for the Self-Employed Act, which extends special benefits provided through the Employment Insurance (EI) system to the self-employed. These special benefits include sickness benefits, compassionate care leave, and maternity and parental leave.

    Under the legislation, self-employed workers could begin contributing to the plan on January 1, 2010. They will pay the same premiums as other Canadians, and will be eligible for the same special benefits at the same rates. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley says that the plan will be self-sustaining – that is, the premiums paid by self-employed workers will cover the benefits paid out. And we should keep in mind that there will be fewer benefits paid out than the rest of us receive, as the self-employed will not be eligible for ordinary EI benefits due to job loss.

    In order to qualify for benefits, self-employed workers must:

  • Contribute to the plan for at least a year before collecting benefits.
  • Make at least $6000 in self-employment income in the year before collecting benefits.
  • Continue contributing to the plan as long as they are self-employed, once they have collected benefits.
  • Fulfill the other ordinary requirements for sickness, compassionate care, maternity, or parental leave.

    • This means that the first self-employed Canadians could collect maternity and parental benefits beginning in January, 2011. If you contribute to the plan and don’t collect benefits, you are free to opt out at the end of any calendar year.

    I think that this is great news. I understand why people who work for themselves would not be eligible to collect unemployment benefits. But special benefits, which are paid out to help people through life events, are a different story. These are things that we can’t always plan for. It is not fair that small business owners, who are the engine of our economy, would be unable to spend time with their babies or be there for their dying mothers in the same way as the rest of us. I am glad that this inequity has been rectified.

    I recognize that even with this legislation, maternity and parental leave may not be viable for many self-employed workers. If your business counts on your presence on a day-to-day basis, taking a year off with your baby may not be possible. It is also true that if you have an unexpected life event you may not qualify for benefits anyway, because you haven’t been contributing for the full year. But I think it is valuable and important to give everyone a choice, and to try to implement change, even as we acknowledge that it may never be perfect.

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    Canadian Parental Leave and Multiples

    on September 24, 2009 3 Comments

    It’s Thursday, so I’m Crafting my Life! Today I’m talking about possibly the biggest challenges any parent faces when trying to find balance, which occurs with multiple births. I have the utmost respect for parents of twins or more. I think that anyone who’s cared for one baby can appreciate how much work must go into caring for two at the same time.

    There are many countries that offer enhanced maternity and parental benefits to parents of multiples. In Sweden, for instance, parents share an additional 180 days of leave if they have twins, increasing the total leave from 480 days to 660 days, or nearly 22 months. Canada, however, does not. Here is a quote taken from a government website answer FAQs about Employment Insurance (EI), the system through which maternity and parental leave is administered:

    If I have or adopt more than one child at once, do I get more money?

    No, the weekly EI payment and the number of weeks to be paid remain the same.

    The idea was that maternity and parental benefits were paid for each pregnancy, and not for each child. So if you had twins or triplets you received exactly the same benefits as any other parent. However, an Ottawa couple recently challenged that rule, and won.

    The crux of their argument centres around parental leave. Maternity leave, which comprises the first 17 weeks of the year-long leave, is reserved for the exclusive use of the birth mother. The remaining 35 weeks of parental leave may be shared, in whole or part, by both parents. The total amount of parental leave claimed by both parents cannot exceed 35 weeks. So if my husband takes 10 weeks then I can only take 25. The parents in this case each applied for 35 weeks of parental leave. The mother applied for one of the baby girls, and the father applied for the other one. He was initially rejected, since the law does not provide for this situation. They appealed, and a court finally decided to allow the father’s parental leave claim.

    This decision applies only to the couple in question, and is said to not be precedent-setting. It remains to be seen if the government appeals the decision, and what the long-term implications will be. Even if this does become policy it’s likely that many families would not be able to take this much parental leave for financial reasons. And there would be many cases where one or both parents would not qualify for EI. All the same, this is definitely an interesting development, and I am sure that parents of multiples are taking note.

    The biggest objection that someone might make to the policy change is that it is somehow unfair. I don’t see it that way. The mother in this case is still receiving only 52 weeks of leave, just as I did. She will not get any additional time with her children. She will get additional time with her partner, which is great. However, if they had these babies separately they would receive a total of 104 weeks of leave and 100 weeks of EI benefits, instead of the 87 weeks of leave and 85 weeks of combined EI benefits they are receiving. Those of us with singletons are really still coming out ahead.

    The father, Christian Martin, said a similar thing in an email:

    “It is not about multiple-birth parents getting more benefits than parents of single births, but rather to get the equivalent treatment since there are more babies to care for. Two sets of benefits are normally given to the same claimant for two separate babies if they come a couple of years apart.”

    The thing that most impresses me about this case is the tenacity of the parents. They saw a rule that they felt was unfair, and they fought to change it. I think that many of us aren’t so proactive. We might complain about the way things are, but we don’t actually step outside of our comfort zone to advocate. I know that I rarely write to my elected representatives or engage in activism, even on issues that I care deeply about like breastfeeding support, environmentalism, or maternity leave. It’s a question that I’m carrying around with me a lot right now, as I consider where I will go and what I will do next.

    Am I willing to step outside of my comfort zone? Am I willing to engage with others, stick my neck out, and fight for change? I’m still figuring out the answer, but I hope that it’s ‘yes’.

    (If you want to know more about how maternity leave works in Canada you might want to read my post on Canadian Maternity Leave, or get my super-cool guide, which are more comprehensive and general.)

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    Guide to Canadian Maternity Leave

    on September 21, 2009 5 Comments

    It’s Mat Leave Monday! I know that I promised I was totally done with that, but I’m re-visiting it this week. After all, this is my blog and so I reserve the right to make the rules up as I go along. I’m totally fun that way. Totally.

    The reason that I’m re-visiting Mat Leave Monday is that my fancy schmancy guide to maternity leave is now available, thanks be to Bob. It’s a brief, completely non-authoritative guide to maternity leave (and parental leave) in Canada. It’s pretty! It has pictures and a flow chart! So how can it help you?

  • It explains how maternity and parental leave work in Canada.
  • It outlines who qualifies for maternity and parental benefits, and who doesn’t.
  • It includes a flow chart and links to help you plan your leave.
  • It explains when and how to apply for EI.
  • It incorporates the phrase ‘show me the money’, which really never gets old.
  • It includes some fun facts about maternity and parental leave.

    • Here is a very exciting excerpt from the guide:

    You can travel while you’re collecting maternity and parental benefits, just be sure to let Service Canada know if you’re leaving the country.

    Exciting, right? I bet you can’t wait to read more!

    To get the guide, click on the pretty, pretty button in this post and you will be taken to a page to enter your email address. You will receive a confirmation email, and once you confirm your email address the guide will be delivered to your inbox. Then, once a month or so you will receive totally riveting emails outlining what I’m up to. If you don’t want to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time.

    So, please, download the guide, read it, and let me know if you have any questions or comments. I put a lot of work into this, I need someone to justify that by downloading my guide. Did I mention it’s pretty? Because it is. You might want to get it just for that. :)

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    Isolation and Togetherness: Susan and Rebecca

    on August 15, 2009 6 Comments

    matleavecarnivalbanner

    Today is the last day of my Carnival of Maternity Leave! I have two more stories to share with you, sharing two very different experiences of being home with a new baby. They show us how maternity leave can be very isolating, or it can be a time of togetherness for a family.

    Susan is a first-time mom of a little boy. She normally works from home, but even for her the experience of having a small baby is isolating. As she writes in her post Isolation and insanity during maternity and parental leave, she feels cut off from her friends but is uncomfortable attending playgroups. She has enjoyed the chance to spend these early days with her son, but she’s also concerned about how the leave has affected her career. Here is part of what she has to say:

    The feeling of isolation is a real one, even for someone like me who usually keeps to myself and works from home. The only time we get a visitor is when we send out an invitation. I understand that our friends don’t want to inconvenience us but it has been over 8 months now and I sort of wished that more people would visit or ask us out. It sort of makes you think that your friends no longer want to hang out with you as much because you have a baby. They probably assume we are too busy but the reality is we are longing for company and socializing.

    Susan is using her blog to vent her frustrations and reach out. I know that a lot of new moms do that now, myself included. We feel cut off from our old lives, so we reach out online. It’s great that we have this option, this way of relating with each other.

    Rebecca, on the other hand, has had a very different experience. She is a stay at home mom, so she doesn’t qualify for maternity leave. However, her husband’s employer provides a top-up to parental leave, and so he has been able to spend 9 months at home following the birth of their second child. In Parental Leave Update, Rebecca talks about how much their family of four has enjoyed spending these months together. Here is an excerpt:

    But the best part? We get to spend so much quality time with the kids. We have 2 hour breakfasts and coffee together in the morning. We make plans for the day on the fly, based on weather or whatever grabs us that day. We go for walks with the kids with no start or end time. My husband and I talk all the time about the kids, about our plans, about politics, education – about anything and everything. And we aren’t stressed.

    I think it’s fabulous that Rebecca’s family has been able to have this time together. I really wish that more fathers were willing or able to take these sorts of leave from work. While we are able to share parental leave in Canada, every week that a father uses is a week that the mother can’t use. Combine that with financial constraints and career concerns, and most men don’t use parental leave. The situation is different in Quebec, where fathers receive dedicated leave, and I wish we had a similar scheme in the rest of the country.

    There is a real spectrum of maternity and parental leave experience. Having a new baby really does bring with it the highest highs and lowest lows, and by extension we experience these things during our leave. It has been amazing to read about everyone else’s highs and lows, I’m so grateful to everyone who participated. If you haven’t read all the posts, go and check them out! You’ll be glad you did. You can find a complete list in my carnival welcome post.

    You might remember that I promised chocolate to one participant. Excluding myself, there were 19 posts included in the carnival. I plugged that number in at random.org, and it came up with lucky number 8. Counting down from the top, that means the winner is Nicole! Congratulations, and thanks again to everyone who played along. :)

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