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Yet, as much as these factors may seem inevitable, the evidence suggests they’re not.

Sweden, Norway and Germany have nudged fathers into taking leave by offering “equality bonuses” to leave-sharing couples and creating paternity quotas. Quebec, which began delivering parental benefits under its Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) in 2006, also has a five-week daddy quota and has increased the maximum income replacement rate from 55 to 70 per cent of a leave-taker’s salary.

These policies have paid off: the number of fathers taking leave has risen from negligible levels to respectable ones. In Quebec, 76 per cent of fathers now take leave for an average time of 5.5 weeks. In the rest of Canada, it’s about 25 per cent for 1.7 weeks.

These policies also affect long-term household dynamics. Fathers who took leave under QPIP devoted 23 per cent more time to household work than fathers covered under EI. Quebec mothers spent more time in the workplace and less time on housework, but a consistent amount of time on child care.

The cost of paternity leave would depend on its design. If it supplemented the existing parental leave benefit, it would be costly. But if the weeks allotted to a paternity quota were deducted from the 35-week parental leave allocation, it need not be (special rules would be required for single-income families and LGBT parents).

As well, for the policy to be effective, a more generous income replacement rate may be necessary. To control the cost, Canada could emulate Quebec’s approach and allow workers to choose between receiving lower benefits over a longer period, or higher income support over a shorter period.

To the extent paternity leave did raise EI costs, the government could mandate higher EI premiums or contribute some amount to EI from general tax revenues, as it used to do. Society benefits from high female labour force participation and strong parenting, so there may be a case for socializing the cost of a more generous EI program across taxpayers.

We should dare to dream of a society in which child care is shared equally by parents. We just may be able to create it.

National Post

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