Question Period Note: NEW EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFIT FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS

When will the new Employment Insurance (EI) adoption benefit and corresponding job-protected leave under the Canada Labour Code (Code) be available, given that legislation received royal assent in June 2024?

· In June 2024, Parliament passed legislation introducing a new 15-week shareable Employment Insurance benefit and corresponding job-protected leave under the Canada Labour Code for parents through adoption or surrogacy.

· The new benefit will support parents who carry out responsibilities related to the placement of the child for adoption or, in case of surrogacy, the arrival of the child into their care. The benefit will make the program more inclusive of the ways families are formed in Canada.

· The Department of Employment and Social Development has been working to implement this measure, including necessary regulatory amendments pertaining to the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code.

· Once in place, parents through adoption and surrogacy will have access to the same total number of weeks of EI income support as birth parents.

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. The Department of Employment and Social Development is working to implement this measure, including necessary regulatory amendments pertaining to the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code, while also implementing temporary EI measures on tariffs.

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