Question Period Note: NEW EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFIT FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS

When will the new Employment Insurance adoption benefit and corresponding job-protected leave under the Canada Labour Code become available to working parents?  

The Government of Canada recognizes that balancing family, work, and financial considerations is challenging, including for Canadians raising young children.

In addition to the decisive actions the Government is taking to support workers affected by tariffs, Employment and Social Development Canada is working to implement a new Employment Insurance adoption benefit to support parents during the critical period surrounding the placement of their child.

Once this benefit is in place, these working parents through adoption or surrogacy will have access to the same number of weeks of income support as birth parents, making Employment Insurance more inclusive of the ways Canadian families are formed.

The EI parental benefit provides temporary income support to qualifying parents who take a leave from work to care for their newborn or newly adopted child or children. This benefit is available to birth parents as well as to parents through adoption or surrogacy. Parents can share the benefit and choose between the standard option (up to 40 weeks, if shared) or the extended option (up to 69 weeks, if shared).

The EI maternity benefit provides up to 15 weeks of income support to qualifying workers who are pregnant or who have recently given birth to support their recovery. As such, the maternity benefit is not available to adoptive parents or parents through surrogacy.

The amendments to the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code creating the adoption benefit and job-protected leave received royal assent in June 2024.

Once it is in place, parents through adoption or surrogacy will be able to combine the new benefit with parental benefits, making the total number of weeks of EI income support the same as that of birth parents (who can combine maternity and parental benefits). As a result, both groups will have a maximum total of 55 weeks (when standard parental benefits are shared) or 84 weeks (when extended parental benefits are shared).

The new adoption benefit is expected to support approximately 1,700 parents each year. In order to ensure changes to the EI system are implemented without disruption of benefit delivery to Canadians, sequencing of implementation of any new changes to the EI program is key. While also prioritizing implementing temporary EI measures on tariffs, the Department of Employment and Social Development is working to implement this new measure.

KEY FACTS

In June 2024, Parliament passed legislation introducing a new, 15-week Employment Insurance (EI) adoption benefit for people becoming parents through adoption or surrogacy, and corresponding job-protected leave under the Canada Labour Code for employees in federally regulated workplaces.

The legislation states both the new EI benefit and the job-protected leave provisions will come into force on a day fixed by Order in Council.

While work continues on implementation for this important new EI measure, it is occurring at the same time as other EI tariff-response priorities are being implemented by the Department to support workers and businesses. Implementation of changes to the EI program needs to be sequenced due to operational and systems requirements.

Once the EI adoption benefit is in effect, it will help make the EI program more inclusive for families.