Paid health and family leave: the Canadian experience in the global context.
OBJECTIVE
Two thirds of Canadian adults participate in the workforce. Their health and that of their families can be markedly affected by the availability of paid sick leave, paid leave to care for family members' health and paid parental leave.


METHODS
We gathered data from all Canadian provinces and territories on these essential leave policies and compared Canadian policies with data collected on 186 United Nations (UN) countries.


RESULTS
While Canada pays sickness benefits for 15 weeks for serious illnesses, globally at least 90 countries provide benefits for at least 26 weeks or until recovery. Moreover, within Canada only Saskatchewan and Quebec guarantee job protection if sick leave lasts over 12 days. The federal government guarantees Canadian workers six weeks of paid leave to provide care or support to gravely ill family members. Only 39 countries guarantee such leave with pay. Most, but not all, provinces guarantee workers' job protection during compassionate care leave. Eligibility for job protection during parental leave varies across the country from having no restrictions to requiring at least one year of service.


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with Canada, many countries offer a longer duration of paid sick leave for employees and replace a higher percentage of wages lost. Internationally, Canada performs well in having policies that guarantee paid leave to care for dependants with serious illnesses, but it lags behind in the provision of paid leave to address the health needs of children or family members' with non-life-threatening conditions. Finally, while paid parental leave is of adequate duration, the wage replacement rate lowers its accessibility to families with limited means.
Heymann
S Jody
SJ
Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, 1130 des Pins O., Montreal, QC H3A 1A3.
Gerecke
Megan
M
Chaussard
Martine
M
D002170:Canada; D016208:Databases, Factual; D017407:Family Leave / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D038622:Internationality; D011640:Public Policy; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence