Thank you.
I'm going to briefly discuss the proposed amendments, clauses 310 to 313, which are amendments to part III of the Canada Labour Code.
Part III of the code establishes minimum working conditions in the federally regulated private sector, such as hours of work, annual vacations and various types of unpaid leave. The federally regulated private sector includes about 6% of all Canadian employees, employed in industries like banking, telecommunications, interprovincial and international transportation, federal Crown corporations, and certain activities on first nation reserves. Part III does not apply to the federal public service.
In general, when amendments are made to the employment insurance special benefits, corresponding amendments are made to the unpaid leaves under the code. This ensures that the federally regulated employees have the right to take unpaid job-protected leaves while receiving the employment insurance special benefits, without fear of losing their jobs. Amendments are, therefore, being proposed to part III to increase the amount of parental leave that may be taken when shared between employees.
More specifically, the amendments will increase the maximum aggregate amount of parental leave that may be taken by more than one employee for the same birth or adoption from the current 63 weeks to 71 weeks, while the maximum amount of leave taken by one employee will remain at 63 weeks, and it will increase the maximum aggregate amount of maternity and parental leave taken by more than one employee from the current 78 weeks to 86 weeks, while one employee cannot take more than the current 78 weeks of maternity and parental leave. These amendments align the code with the extended EI parental benefits that Andrew just described.
We're happy to answer any questions.