Do you want me to start over? No? Okay.
When I had my daughter, I had a job that allowed me a comfortable income while I took my maternity leave. The year I had with my daughter was incredible. I was able to breastfeed without any worries, and I didn't have any overwhelming financial stresses to take away from the joy I experienced every single day with her. I was able to witness her first crawl, her first walk, her first bite of solid food, and her first word.
My encounter with the new extended leave was wonderful. I never had to get up early the next day for work or day care after a night with no sleep. I wasn't forced to forgo breastfeeding because I'd be away from my baby for extended periods, and I never felt stressed, fatigued, or anxious because I didn't know how to pay the bills that kept coming in, even though my paycheques were cut almost in half.
I also never realized that my experience was possibly the exception. I assumed that everyone had the same benefits, and I never really cared to look outside the box. A year off work with your new baby—how could anyone complain about that? I had a wonderful new caregiving experience with my new daughter.
For many people, when asked to conjure an image of caregiving, the image of a mother with her new baby comes to mind. For newborns, caregiving is of the ultimate necessity. Caregiving is a matter of survival. The maternity and parental benefits program was extended to one year so that our mothers and babies and fathers could have the best possible start in their new lives. It is a positive step for our future, but only for those who are able to use it. Unfortunately, there are many Canadian women who cannot access this valuable resource. Upon closer examination, the policy does not prove equitable for all women, especially those with non-standard work arrangements.
In early 2001, one of our board members at Women's Network had become pregnant, and everyone was excited that the new parental benefits legislation had just been extended and that she would have a year at home with her new baby. She was quick to point out that this wasn't true. She was a self-employed contract worker, so she would not qualify for benefits.
Interestingly, the board of Women's Network, as many Canadians, assumed at that time that if you had a baby you had a year off with pay, and didn't realize what the qualifiers for benefits were. So in reflecting on this woman's situation, the board quickly realized that many women would be in the same situation of not qualifying. Women's Network P.E.I. began research and consultation with Atlantic Canadian parents and equality-seeking women's organizations. We wanted to examine whether the maternity and parental benefits policy currently employed by HRSDC is equitable for all women.
Something we do as Canadians is assume. We assume that women have equal access to benefits, but in regard to benefits, men are more likely to be eligible for parental leave than women are. Although statistics show that mothers are far more likely to take leave from work to care for a new baby and in general to take on the role of primary caregiver to children, men are more likely to be eligible for parental leave.
We assume that mothers who are eligible have a full year of benefits. We hear that it is a year, but in reality, two weeks of this year is actually unpaid. Canada is one of the only countries that has a waiting period for maternity leave. We assume that all working women are eligible for benefits. Self-employed women cannot access maternity and parental benefits in Canada.
So who are the women excluded from receiving benefits? Women who have non-standard work arrangements are not eligible or can find it extremely difficult to be eligible for maternity and parental benefits. In 2003, at least 35% of new mothers were not eligible for maternity and parental leave.
Women's economic security is disadvantaged within the employment insurance program through the quantity of unpaid work they do in the family as caregivers. Maternity and parental benefits do not reflect the realities of the role of mothers within Canadian families, and as a result, mothers are less likely than others to qualify. With each child a woman has, her likelihood of receiving benefits decreases.
Finally, as I mentioned before, self-employed women are not eligible.
In 2001, approximately one in four women had not participated in the labour market in the 12 months preceding the birth of a child, which excluded them from eligibility for benefits. In some instances, EI-eligible mothers have become pregnant again while on leave, making it extremely challenging to get enough hours to qualify for EI and significantly reducing the likelihood that they'll be eligible for benefits following the birth of their next child.
Allowing a reach-back, similar to that allowed in the self-employment benefit program, would increase eligibility for EI benefits for those women who have had a break in their paid work. This could also be a mechanism that would include a portion of women who are currently self-employed.
Canada needs to support new parents by taking into account the changing realities of the labour market and by helping balance work and family obligations. Women-owned businesses are the fastest-growing part of the business sector in Canada, with women creating twice as many new businesses as men. The majority of these, at 59%, were between the ages of 20 and 45—child-bearing age. Under the current program, self-employed workers, with the exception of self-employed fishers, are not eligible for EI. This stipulation excludes them from accessing maternity and parental benefits.
One in three self-employed women return to work within two months after having a child, compared to 5% of paid workers. Canada is one of the only countries that has a two-week waiting period for maternity and parental benefits. The two weeks without pay before receiving just 55% of your regular income for the remainder of the year places a huge financial burden on many women. The logic behind this policy, which is the elimination of short weeks of paid unemployment, simply doesn't apply for maternity benefits. The two-week waiting period must be eliminated to improve the economic security of women.
Canada has one of the lowest wage replacement levels in both developed and developing countries, placing a hardship on women at both high- and low-income levels. Due to the wage gap between women and men, women will generally have an even lower wage replacement than men. The wage replacement rate must be raised from 55% to make these benefits a true option for many mothers.
Maternity and parental benefits are a vehicle for both economic security and caregiving capacity. Our research into maternity and parental benefits in other countries shows that there are many progressive policies that can serve as models for Canadian policy-makers. There are many countries that recognize that family life is essential for the well-being of children, and for that reason they have adopted explicit family policies. These policies generally focus on compensating for the economic costs of rearing children, giving people the economic resources to have children when they want to, redistributing income so as to ensure an adequate standard of living for all, and the reconciling of work and family life. The family policies of these countries are closely tied to workplace gender equity policies. Some emerged out of a concern for a low birth rate, and through our research we have found countries that have enhanced their maternity and parental benefits specifically to address declining fertility rates.
In closing, it is vital to Canada's future to work towards a caring society that takes into account the economic security of women. The two are not separate, and in doing so we will create a more equitable society for all. Thank you.