Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for making time to be here today.
All families deserve equal access to parental leave, but adoptive and intended parents remain at a disadvantage under our current EI system. In the previous Parliament, I introduced a private member's bill to create a new 15-week attachment benefit that would deliver parity for adoptive and intended parents. It recognized the importance of securing early attachments and the role that support plays in healthy long-term outcomes.
As you know, my bill did not receive the royal recommendation it needed to proceed. Instead, your government introduced its own version of the bill, copied in principle but with one critical difference: It would only come into force on an order in council. Despite that, the measure received unanimous support in the House and Bill C-59 received royal assent on June 20, 2024.
However, it's now almost a year and a half later—17 months—and parents are still waiting for this benefit to be rolled out. Parental leaves have come and gone, and in the meantime, families are continuing to miss out on these important additional weeks with their kids, though Parliament unanimously agreed that they should have this. Time is a precious commodity for any new family, so adoptive and intended parents simply want the time they deserve with their children.
Minister, on what exact date will adoptive and intended parents finally receive the equal access to the leave that Parliament promised them?