The Liberals want to extend the duration of parental leave, but that won't necessarily help poorer families access the program. The results of the study, published Thursday in the Journal of Industrial Relations, raises questions about the Liberal plan for a revamped parental leave program, and whether the party's promise to extend leave to 18 months will just exacerbate the situation. New research shows Canada's parental leave program leaves out two-fifths of mothers, many of them low-income, and points to a stark divide between families that are "parental-leave-rich" and "parental-leave-poor" — just as the Liberals prepare to enhance the program. For now, the federal parental leave program pays out benefits for up to 15 weeks for new mothers and allows mothers and fathers to split an additional 35 weeks. In Quebec, which has its own maternity and paternity leave program, less than 11 per cent didn't qualify.

Source: CBC News May 21, 2016 14:59 UTC