qathet Regional District directors will vote on sending a letter to the province for attention to parental leave provisions for elected officials.
At the January 13 committee of the whole meeting, directors reviewed correspondence from District of North Saanich regarding parental leave. Directors voted to receive the correspondence.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne moved that the committee recommend the board send a letter to minister of municipal affairs Josie Osborne requesting action and attention to the matter of parental leave provisions for elected officials.
Gisborne said he had his second child recently, and at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention, there was discussion about parental leave for elected officials.
“There have been some challenges in the past for elected officials, where sometimes, an elected official doesn’t get the support from their council or board to take that leave,” said Gisborne. “I believe the conversation at the UBCM was the request that the ministry provide some legislative changes to ensure young parents who are having a child can take a parental leave without being penalized.
“The correspondence we received is looking for our support, therefore, I figured I would put forward this motion, and with the assembly’s support, we can add our voice to the District of North Saanich.”
Electoral Area A director and board chair Patrick Brabazon asked chief administrative officer Al Radke if there was anything in the legislation that would prohibit a local government from establishing parental leave for elected representatives.
Radke said he was unaware of anything in that regard.
“We have to remember that most of our policies are relevant to employees,” said Radke.
Brabazon said he believes local governments have the ability to establish such policies and don’t need sanction from the province.
Gisborne said the request from the discussion at UBCM last year was that local governments could independently have their own policies, however, that can run the risk of possible political interference for young parents.
“The argument we’ve been hearing is that a young member of a board or council should be protected by the province to take potential parental and maternity leave,” said Gisborne. “Right now, if an elected official wishes to take leave, they can, but they need the approval of the assembly; that is my understanding. The policy would be up to each local government.
“The request is to be protected province-wide. I believe this request is very much in line. That way, individual local governments aren’t having to shoulder the administrative burden of having to come up with their own independent policies. Also, when young people are looking to run for office, the issue of maternity and paternity leave can come up as an issue, and if a local government does not have a policy, it could potentially discourage young individuals and parents from becoming involved.”
Gisborne said he is in support of the initiative by North Saanich to protect young parents and future young parents from being able to participate in local government without potential interference from political colleagues.
City director George Doubt said his understanding of the situation is that the only thing that stands in the way of anyone taking parental leave is the requirement that directors or councillors not miss more than a certain number of meetings without permission of the board or council.
“All it requires is a simple request from an individual if they wish to take that leave to get permission to not attend those meetings because of the requirement of parental leave,” added Doubt. “I’m not aware that anybody has been refused. It’s something that could be dealt with case-by-case.”
Electoral Area D director and committee chair Sandy McCormick said she was inclined to support the recommendation. She said if the decision is left up to the board or council, politics may well come into play, and there may be issues regarding the individual that could be taken advantage of.
“I do think we need to encourage younger people to run for office,” added McCormick.
The committee supported the motion, with Brabazon opposed.
