Fredericton council asks province for parental leave for city councillors

Local government leaders could soon get to take the same parental leave available to other New Brunswickers.

At Fredericton city council Tuesday evening, councillors approved a motion to direct staff to draft a parental leave policy and ask the province to update regulations to allow it.

"I think it's way overdue, to be honest with you," said Deputy Mayor Jocelyn Pike, who chaired the council meeting. 

"We want to be able to include different people and get different points of views and perspectives [on council], and this is one group that we're totally eliminating," Pike said of people who might consider serving on city council and having a family at the same time.

The report from Fredericton council's governance and civic engagement committee said there are now no specific sections regarding parental leave under the province's Local Governance Act, which deals with how municipal councils run.

"Municipalities in New Brunswick are behind in their consideration of parental leave for members of council," the report said.

"A component of diversity equity and inclusion work is to remove systemic barriers, including participation in municipal government, which a parental leave policy would aim to address."

Not a new issue

The report went on to explain that councillors are not able to contribute to employment insurance and are therefore ineligible to collect benefits for parental leave. 

The issue has also come up in recent years for New Brunswick MLAs.

"If you want to have a baby and you're on council, you're tied up for four years," Pike said.

She added that it's "unfair" for people to have to hold off having a family if they want to be involved in city government. 

Being a councillor is a big-time commitment, said Coun. Pike said.

Between weekly council meetings, additional committee meetings and work in her ward, "it's almost a full-time job for me, to be honest with you," Pike said.

Province open to discussion 

Clarissa Andersen, a spokesperson with the Department of Local Government, said in an emailed statement that the department is "aware of recent decisions by some local government councils related to the adoption of a parental leave policy."

The Local Governance Act currently permits a member of council to be absent when authorized by council, but the department is open to discussing if additional measures may be required, the statement said.