Canadian Press says Tuesday’s federal budget will include a five-week “use-it-or-lose-it” incentive for new fathers to take parental leave and share the responsibilities for baby care. The government has been under increasing pressure from advocates to make further changes to Canada’s parental leave policies. A recently released briefing note prepared for Morneau said Canadian women with children are less involved in the labour market than their counterparts in many of the industrialized countries in the OECD. The idea of parental leave for a second parent would be similar to a policy in Quebec, which is the only province that pays for leave for new fathers. Quebec’s system provides up to five weeks of paid leave to new fathers and covers up to 70 per cent of their income.
