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On June 20, 2024, Federal Bill C-59, Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, received royal assent. Bill C-59 facilitates the following amendments to the Code (in part by updating prior amending legislation not yet in force):
- Pregnancy Loss Leave: Employees will have access to a new leave of absence related to pregnancy loss of eight weeks in cases of stillbirth, or three days in the case of any other form of pregnancy loss. The leave will be available where the pregnancy loss is experienced by employees, by their spouses, or by a pregnant person where the employee intended to be the legal parent of the child if the pregnancy ended in a live birth. If the employee has completed three consecutive months of continuous employment, the first three days of this leave are paid.
- Bereavement Leave: Bereavement leave will be expanded to entitle employees to eight weeks of unpaid leave in the event of the death of a child. Bereavement leave will also be amended to make it more consistent with other Code leaves, including requiring an employee’s written notice to include the reasons for a leave and written notice for changes to the length of the leave.
These amendments are scheduled to come into force on December 17, 2025, or on an earlier date to be fixed by order.
- Leave for Placement of a Child: At present, parents welcoming a child through adoption or surrogacy have access to the same parental leave as biological parents (up to 63 weeks of parental leave). A new 16-week leave of absence, similar to maternity leave, will be available for employees who are undertaking responsibilities respecting placement of a child into their care, whether through adoption or surrogacy.
Corresponding amendments will be made to the Employment Insurance Act to create a new 15-week benefit for claimants taking on these responsibilities for a newly arrived child, either through adoption or surrogacy.
Read the full article
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