Liberals vote down improvements to job protection for parents

HALIFAX -- Today, the McNeil Liberals used their majority government to push through a bill that fails to provide parents in Nova Scotia with similar access to protected leave from work to parents in other provinces. The NDP brought forward an amendment that would have granted job protection for pregnancy and parental leaves to any Nova Scotian who had worked for their employer for 17 weeks, bringing it in line with eligibility for Employment Insurance.

“The government had the opportunity to show leadership on this file and ensure that all new parents don’t have to worry about losing their jobs when they take pregnancy or parental leave,” said NDP Labour Spokesperson Tammy Martin. “Instead, they’ve deferred that decision, leaving new parents vulnerable to permanent layoff.”

The Liberals proposed amendments to the Labour Standards Code in an attempt to bring Nova Scotia’s labour code in line with new extended pregnancy and parental leave benefits offered through Employment Insurance. In Nova Scotia, only those who have worked a full year for their employer are able to access job protection if taking pregnancy or parental leave.

“This decision is a step backwards. Women often fall out of the workforce when they leave to raise their children,” said Claudia Chender, NDP Spokesperson for Business. “The Liberal government had an opportunity to ensure more new parents are able to return to their jobs following a pregnancy or parental leave.”

Nova Scotia is the only province that requires such a long employment period before a job is protected. Manitoba has the next highest requirement at seven months while others have no minimum requirement.

Province/Territory	Current Policy for Pregnancy Leave
British Columbia	No minimum employment period required for protection
Alberta	Same employer for at least 90 days
Saskatchewan	20 weeks of 52 immediately preceding day on which requested leave is to commence
Manitoba	7 consecutive months, same employer
Ontario	13 weeks
Quebec	2 paid paternity days after child’s birth with 60 days uninterrupted service, no minimum employment period required for protection
New Brunswick	No minimum
Prince Edward Island	20 weeks of the 52 preceding commencement date
Newfoundland and Labrador	20 weeks immediately before birth date
Nova Scotia	52 weeks, same employer