Mr. Speaker, it is a real pleasure for me to be able to present a petition in support of the parental leave reforms announced by the Conservative Party. These are very popular reforms with petitioners and others. People want to see more flexible parental leave that allows people to make their own choices when it comes to integrating their work with time spent with family and children.
Petitioners draw the attention of the House to the fact that Canada's existing parental leave system is far too rigid. It should support families, instead of forcing them into rigid choices that do not reflect the realities of modern parenting. Petitioners want to see more flexibility to allow a balance between work, caregiving and skills development during the early years of a child's life. The current parental leave system, outside of Quebec, does not generally allow parents to pause and later resume parental leave, even where a temporary return to work would better suit the needs of the family and the employer.
Petitioners also point out that parents should be able to pursue education or skills training while on parental leave without loss of benefits, and that parents who provide occasional paid caregiving services to other families while caring for their own children should not face benefit clawbacks that discourage flexible work and the expansion of child care options.
Petitioners call on the Government of Canada to implement the Conservative proposals for a better parental leave system, to establish more flexible parental leave policies, allowing parental leave benefits to be paused and resumed within the existing maximum parental leave time frame of 18 months by mutual agreement between employer and employee, to ensure that parents can pursue education or skills training while on parental leave without losing access to benefits and to create a caregiving exception to EI parental leave benefit clawbacks so that parents may provide limited paid caregiving without penalty.
These changes are good for families, and they are good for the economy. They reflect the reality of the modern workforce, allowing people to continue to grow and develop their skills while being plugged into work at the same time as taking more time to be present and engaged with the lives of their children.
I commend that petition to the consideration of the House, and I certainly look forward to hearing what the government has to say in response to it.