The Recent Québec Appeal Court Decision on the Constitutionality of Maternity and Parental Benefits as Employment Insurance benefits: Some Feminist Reflections

Aside from federal/provincial division of powers arguments, the Québec Appeal Court decision raised some important questions about maternity and parental benefits. The Court saw motherhood as an individual choice and therefore an individual responsibility. At NAWL, we think that society as a whole benefits from the work mothers (and increasingly, fathers) do raising children. The cost of raising children should be borne collectively.