Policies we want to see
Childcare
1. New planned communities and school developments must be evaluated for the inclusion of integrated childcare facilities—combining daycare, kindergarten, before- and after-school care, and, where appropriate, elementary schools—ensuring these businesses/services are located within the same building or development.
These planned centers future-proof communities by streamlining pick-up and drop-off for families, reducing stress, and giving parents back valuable time—particularly those with multiple children. They also reduce traffic congestion, lower related pollution, and decrease dependence on vehicles and parking spaces.
2. To simplify childcare for parents and create availability, utilize existing safe spaces by making it mandatory for schools, where possible, to host before and after care programs on site.
3. To support career planning and mental health, childcare facilities should make waitlists transparent, offering parents a non-binding timeframe for their place on the waitlist.
4. To enhance the availability of qualified childcare workers, initiatives such as paid placements, loan forgiveness (like the federal and provincial loan forgiveness programs for medical professionals working in rural areas) and higher wages, should be explored to help attract new entrants into childcare certification programs.
5. Support healthcare workers, first responders and parents working irregular hours with 24-hour childcare facilities.
Healthcare
6. Pregnancy and childbirth have a significant impact on the female body, and similar to any major medical procedure, specific rehabilitation and physiotherapy is beneficial to, and often necessary, for a return to normal body function. As such, we want to see a minimum of 4 pelvic floor physiotherapy visits covered by provincial healthcare.
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7. According to Health Canada and the World Health Organization, breast milk is the best food for newborn babies to at least 6 months. Despite this, national data shows that while 90% of Canadian mothers initiate breastfeeding, nearly half discontinue within the first six months, and only 32% exclusively breastfeed for the recommended six months. As such, we want to see certified lactation consultants, of the mothers choosing, added to the provincial health care regime and available to all birthing mothers.
8. Mental health is a critical component of physical and overall health. Recognizing that mental health issues are the most common pregnancy and postpartum complication, we want to see clinical counselling added to the provincial healthcare regime and made available to all pregnant and postpartum women experiencing low level symptoms.
9. Childbirth and immediate postpartum have profound physical and psychological impacts. To ensure quality care for the birthing mother, a total care approach at the hospital before being discharged should be applied, including an initial visit from a pelvic floor physio, lactation consultant and clinical councillor.
10. Pregnant women have a right to free information regarding the medical procedure of childbirth, including the stages of labour, available pain management options, potential emergencies, c-section procedures and immediate aftercare for mother and baby. We want the Provincial Government to work with the health authorities to ensure that all pregnant persons have free access to a childbirth medical procedure briefing.
11. Children are essential to maintaining a socially and economically vibrant society. However, infertility affects 1 in 6 Canadian couples, as reported by The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, and this challenge is likely to grow as more people choose to have children later in life. People seeking to build a family through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) should have access to affordable fertility treatments; as such, IVF treatments should be taxpayer funded, empowering Canadians to pursue their dreams of parenthood without undue financial hardship.
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12. Recognizing that not all Canadians have access to employee benefits plans, and that those plans do not always cover the full extent of health care needs for Canadians, and that the Canadian healthcare system does not cover all aspects of healthcare, we encourage governments to create a tax-free health spending account, similar to an RRSP, so that individuals and families can save for their health care needs.
Maternity & Parental Leave
13. We recognize that caring for one’s children is the most important job a parent can have, and that maternity and parental leave is not the same as being unemployed. We call on the government to tailor the application process for maternity and parental leave and remove the requirement to requalify for unemployment insurance following a maternity/ parental leave. Therefore, if a parent on leave loses their job at no fault of their own, while on leave or shortly after returning to their workplace, they will immediately qualify for unemployment insurance.
14. Children are a benefit to society and to Canada as a whole, and parents should not have to suffer financially, especially at a time when their cost of living is increasing, by losing income during parental and maternity leave, and that parents should not have to return to work before 12 months due to lost wages. We call on the government to explore ways to increase the percentage of insurable earnings for maternity and parental leave, increase the maximum amount and tie it to inflation, and use its influence and available means to encourage Canadian based companies to offer a maternity top-up.
15. Mothers with paid employment should not be financially punished when she becomes pregnant while on leave and cannot meet the 600-hour threshold before giving birth, therefore not qualifying for maternity pay. We call on the Government of Canada to reduce the required insurable hours worked to qualify for parental and maternity leave to 400 hours for subsequent leaves. To be clear, the first leave still must have a minimum of 600 insurable hours.
Making the Canada Child Benefit fair for families in high cost of living areas.
16. The cost of living varies significantly across Canada and income tested government programs do not account for the cost of living from city to city; as a result, some parents living in unaffordable major urban areas do not qualify for parental and child support government programs due to the income thresholds. We call on the Government of Canada to explore ways to account for the cost of living when calculating parental and child support benefits, to ensure that young families can live in urban areas.