A step in the right direction
Vancouver Sun - The Montreal Gazette
September 18, 2008

… Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he will extend parental-leave benefits under employment insurance to Canada's 2.6 million self-employed, of whom about a third are women.

Men are much less likely to take parental leaves. Currently, self-employed Canadians outside of Quebec are not allowed to contribute to or withdraw benefits from EI.

… But a comparison between Quebec's benefits package for parents and parents-to-be and the new federal offer shows that Ottawa has some distance to go to catch up to family-friendly Quebec, with its broadly, if not totally, accessible daycare network, generally at low cost to families. The self-employed are not always in a position to take advantage of a leave of any significant duration. Clients are not necessarily willing to wait six months or more.

As a signal to the workplace, however, that young families need a wider panoply of support, the Harper promise is welcome.