Bill C-464 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Insurance Act (parental leave for multiple births or adoptions)

This enactment amends the Canada Labour Code to entitle an employee to leave of absence of up to seventy-two weeks in the case of multiple births or adoptions.
It also amends the Employment Insurance Act to increase the maximum number of weeks during which parental benefits can be paid from thirty-five to seventy in the case of multiple births or adoptions.

Canada Labour Code

[Sana Hassainia, NDP, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-464, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Insurance Act (parental leave for multiple births or adoptions).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce my bill concerning parental leave for multiple births or adoptions. As some of you already know, I am the proud mother of a little boy, and this has led me to research the challenges faced by Canadian parents. I discovered that parents of twins or triplets face even greater challenges, not just because their daily lives are more complicated, but also because the law puts them at a disadvantage.

Parents who have twins or triplets only have 35 weeks of parental leave, the same amount as parents who have one child. However, welcoming multiple children at a time into their lives is not the same as welcoming one.

My bill would help these families by providing them with more leave, up to 72 weeks. The sole purpose of this bill is to help Canadian families, and I am certain that my colleagues from the other parties will support my bill as they care about the physical, mental and financial health of their constituents.

I would like to thank Ms. Kimberley Weatherall, of Multiple Births Canada, an association that has been working for several years advocating for the rights of parents of twins and triplets, as well as Mr. Christian Martin, who is the proud father of twin girls and who appealed to the Federal Court to be eligible for the same parental leave as his wife. Ms. Weatherall and Mr. Martin have supported my efforts in this regard, and I would like to thank them for their assistance.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be seeking unanimous consent in a moment for a motion that we believe would accomplish a reasonable compromise on a bill that has been sitting, without being called by the government, since February 17 of this year, more than nine months. It is Bill C-32, an act to amend the Civil Marriage Act. The government has chosen not to call the legislation for all this time. We need to balance the expediency of having this legislation finally passed through the House, not only for a royal recommendation but also to ensure that the bill has appropriate time to be studied.

I seek unanimous consent for the motion, which reads as follows: That notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-32, an act to amend the Civil Marriage Act, be disposed of at all stages as follows: not more than one sitting day shall be allotted for the consideration at second reading; if the bill is not reported back on the fifth sitting day after the bill is disposed of at second reading, during routine proceedings, it shall be deemed to have been reported from the committee without amendment; upon being reported from the committee, the bill shall be deemed concurred in at report stage and deemed read a third time and passed.

[The Acting Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

Does the hon. opposition House leader have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the proposal of the New Democratic Party House leader for his first time allocation motion. I welcome him to the club, having proposed the allocation of time for debate on an item in the House.

We actually have a better idea to speed this up, and the other parties are aware of this. I propose the following motion, which would ensure that the bill gets to the Senate today: That notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practices of the House, Bill C-32, an act to amend the Civil Marriage Act, shall be deemed to have been read a second time and referred to committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage and deemed read a third and passed.

By adopting this motion, the bill would proceed to the Senate today.

[The Acting Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.