A group of elected officials in B.C. want a provincial policy for parental and maternity leave, something that doesn’t currently exist.
Three B.C. mothers have been pushing for a policy on their own for years, but last year they all joined forces and say the province is finally getting on board. They want changes to both the Municipal Act and the School Act that would set a standard for maternity and paternity leave for elected officials.
Under current legislation, it is up to each individual local government or school board to set its own policies for any kind of leave, including maternity leave. But these mothers say it’s something that should be legislated by the province in the first place.
The group includes Michelle Mungall, former MLA for Nelson-Creston and former member of the B.C. executive council, Jenna Stoner, councillor for the district of Squamish and director for the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, as well as Julie Bremner, school trustee for School District 8, Kootenay Lake.
“There’s currently no baseline policy or regulation that tells us how much leave we’re allowed to get if we have or adopt a baby. And so it’s very uncommon and inconsistent and uncertain as to what happens if you’re in an elected position,” Stoner told CBC’s Daybreak South.
She said this applies for any elected city councillor, mayor, regional district director or school board trustee.
‘Could deter young people from seeking office’
Stoner says local governments have been advocating for this change since 2016. That was the first time a resolution on the topic was supported through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
She was first elected to city council in 2018. Partway through her first term, she decided to have a baby, and although there was a policy in place, she still had to obtain permission from her fellow council members by way of a vote.
“I personally know folks, in this current term, from across the province, who have brought their one- or two-week-old babies to council chambers because they didn’t feel like they would be supported in bringing a policy or resolution forward asking for leave,” Stoner said, adding that it could possibly deter people from running for these positions in the first place.
“If I’m a younger female and I am uncertain as to what my parental leave rights might be, it really is one additional barrier to this job.”
In a written statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs said that under the existing legislation, local governments have broad authority to grant leave to locally elected officials for many reasons, including parental leave.
“This authority includes establishing policies for leave, outlining how to handle appointments to boards and committees, and other duties during the leave and upon return. This existing approach provides flexibility to local governments and allows communities to design parental leave policies tailored to their individual circumstances,” said the spokesperson.
The same goes for boards of education. Under the School Act, boards are able to grant leave for a number of reasons.
The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs did not confirm whether the province is working toward building a standard policy for leave for elected officials.
But Mungall told CBC News that since the trio of mothers joined forces, they have at least received a response, and the group is hopeful that it will be up for consideration at this year’s Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention.
Ontario and Nova Scotia have passed legislation
Both Ontario and Nova Scotia are examples to follow, says Mungall, as both provinces have passed legislation around parental and maternity leave for elected officials.
“Making these changes removes systemic discrimination from our democratic institutions and ensures that governments reflect their constituents,” said Mungall.
Stoner says that it would be a fairly simple change, too.
“There’s some clear examples there that we can really just copy and paste from and move this forward,” she said.
