Comments on: Maternity Leave and the Self-Employed

By: Carli Staub

Carli Staub — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:12:07 +0000

Hi everyone,

I wanted to let you know that Libby asked a question about EI (including maternity and parental leave) for self-employed people during a debate in the House of Commons this morning. I have pasted it below (I’m sorry, I don’t have the Minister’s response as this is just the preliminary record. The formal record will be posted tomorrow).

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I think the minister knows that the NDP members have been very clear about our support for the unemployed and the changes that are needed in the employment insurance system. In fact, we have been supporting the bill and the $1 billion that was recently put forward.
I would like to ask the minister whether or not her government is prepared to bring forward the very necessary changes, particularly with maternity and paternity benefits for self-employed people.
We know that this is a very serious matter and that there are hundreds of thousands, millions of Canadians who are self-employed who are suffering because they cannot take advantage of the EI system and we think this is a very important.
Is the government prepared to bring forward this system in recognition of the great need that is out there and the reform that is needed to the EI system to help people who are self-employed?

By: Aimée Sturley

Aimée Sturley — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:03:37 +0000

I just emailed Libby Davies, my local MP to ask her what she was doing about this issue and it turns out one of her colleagues is already planning to address it in the House of Commons today. Strange coincidence! They said they’d send me an update sometime today, so I’ll pass along any info that I get.

By: » The Best and Worst of Maternity Leave: Brie and Lara Strocel.com

» The Best and Worst of Maternity Leave: Brie and Lara Strocel.com — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:05:40 +0000

[...] I discussed in Maternity Leave and the Self-Employed the government may be taking steps so that self-employed parents are eligible for maternity and [...]

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:53:32 +0000

There are many benefits to being self-employed. This isn’t one of them.

However, I already have one of the significant benefits of government guaranteed maternity leave, in that my boss isn’t going to fire me while I’m on leave. So that’s a good thing. And even if government benefits were accessible to me, I don’t actually work enough hours, I don’t think, to qualify.

On the downside, every moment I’m not working I’m just…not working. I’ll be returning to some form of work within weeks and months of my child’s birth. And I’ve set things up so that I can do that and not sacrifice my ideals of mothering, but still, it’s a lot of pressure.

Yeah, there’s a bit of a dead zone here in the government support of mothers who opt out of traditional employment in favour of the sort of jigsaw puzzle lifestyle of self-employment and mamahood. That ridiculous $100/month cheque that I get (the one that inspired my preschool to up their monthly fees by $100) doesn’t really address the situation.

By: barb

barb — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:00:54 +0000

Great post! As a self employed mamma myself I’d like to add that it isn’t just the Mat. Leave benefit we are unable to access but in Ontario we cannot deduct our daycare as a married self employed woman unless we ‘make enough money’ – sorry can’t remember the amount -as the credit is only applied to the lowest income earner who must clear a certain amount net, before the credit is applied.
In my case I had to eat the cost of leaving my daughter in daycare while I cared for my second and took time off work – after all, if I pulled her from daycare she would loose her spot and they might not have had a spot when I needed more care again.

By: Lady M

Lady M — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:05:11 +0000

That’s really interesting. I would have thought (in ignorance) that maternity or parental benefits would not be tied to a job. Although I suppose the term “maternity leave” does imply leaving something, presumably a job.

Health insurance in the US is typically tied to a job, as are maternity leave benefits (known under the charming terms “pregnancy/childbirth disability” at my company).

By: Allison

Allison — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:12:18 +0000

Look, lady, I thought we had an agreement that we were going to blog about how cute our kids are and how childbirth destroys your ability to use compound adjectives. Where do you get off being all penetrating and incisive and — what’s the word — coherent?
Great post, couldn’t agree more. Perhaps tomorrow I will try my hand at something a little more weighty than rotting fish. Hope springs eternal…