Quebec wants Ottawa to give money to provinces to set up their own parental- and maternity-leave programs
The Quebec Court of Appeal has ruled that the federal government’s parental- and maternity-leave program is unconstitutional.
In a Jan. 27 unanimous ruling, the three-judge panel said Ottawa can’t use the Employment Insurance Act to offer benefits for programs that are exclusively a provincial jurisdiction. It said EI’s mandate is to replace wages for people who lose their jobs for economic reasons and “not for the interruption of employment for reasons related to personal conditions” according to a report in the Globe and Mail.
Quebec launched a court challenge to the federal government’s plan because it wants to offer more benefits than Ottawa does. If upheld, the ruling would allow any province to opt out of the federal maternity- and parental-leave program with compensation to help pay for its own program.
“There are limits to what the federal government and the federal Parliament can do. This ruling proves that such limits exists,” said Benoît Pelletier, Quebec’s Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. “This ruling strongly encourages the federal government to negotiate rather than pursue court battles.”
It wants full control over its share of premiums paid into EI for parental and maternity leave, estimated to be about $400 million per year.
The federal government has 60 days to appeal the ruling. Human Resources and Skill Development Minister Joe Volpe said no federal programs would stop in the meantime. It hasn’t yet said whether it plans to appeal and is studying the decision. Quebec said it fully expects the federal government to appeal the decision.
The ruling could have far-reaching implications for Prime Minister Paul Martin and his government’s plans to introduce other national social programs such as a national daycare program and child-care support.
