Self-employed workers have access to a voluntary employment insurance program, meaning that they have to choose to sign up for and pay into the regime, which gives them access to maternity and parental benefits.
Only about 15,000 individuals across the country participate in the program, so the number of self-employed workers enrolling in the program is low. That said, those who enrol tend to be young women, likely because they want to be able to access these benefits.