I'll speak first to the issue of maternity parental benefits provided under the EI program, if that's okay, and I'll then speak to the issue of coverage for people earning their income from farming. These are somewhat different questions.
With respect to maternity parental benefits coverage, the current program does not provide coverage to self-employed persons. That's a common characteristic with respect to all the benefits in the program. It's something we monitor in the context of the program's coverage of the different aspects of the workforce, but with respect to maternity and parental for that population itself, it's not part of the government's current policy.
The additional comment I would offer is that under the provisions of the employment insurance program, a province can implement, if it so chooses, its own maternity and parental program. In one case, in the case of Quebec, the government reached an agreement with Quebec, and it has since implemented a program.
I'm mentioning this just to draw it to your attention that the program implemented by Quebec is the first one that I'm aware of to provide that type of coverage to self-employed persons. They're in the first year of establishing that program, which provides an opportunity for all governments to see how it works.
Generally speaking, the work characteristics of self-employed persons are very different from those of employed persons. That is the general reason why self-employed persons haven't been covered to date under the employment insurance program, which was designed more specifically on employment relationships.
With respect to the coverage of self-employed persons with farm income, generally speaking those persons are not covered under the program for the general reasons I just mentioned. There are specific situations in which people living on farms can be eligible for unemployment insurance in respect of their earnings from an employment situation, but there are quite complex rules around that. I'd be happy to have someone who's better informed than me address it.