What changes have been made to parental leave?

Under the previous Collective Agreement, lawyers are entitled to a single period of parental leave of up to 37 consecutive weeks during the 52-week period beginning on the date of birth or the date on which a child comes into a lawyer's care. There is no automatic right to extended parental leave under the previous Collective Agreement.

Lawyers who currently choose to extend their leave beyond 52 weeks must apply for leave without pay for care of family (caregiving leave) for up to 24 weeks following the end of their parental leave, dipping into their 5 year entitlement. This type of leave is unpaid and subject to operational requirements.

Under the new Collective Agreement, lawyers will have a choice, effective the date the provisions come into effect, between:
 

• Standard Parental Leave: a single period of parental leave of up to 37 consecutive weeks during the 52-week period beginning on the date of birth or the date on which a child comes into a lawyer's care, OR
• Extended Parental Leave: a single period of parental leave of up to 63 consecutive weeks during the 78-week period beginning on the date of birth or the date on which a child comes into a lawyer's care.

Requests for extended parental leave of 26 additional weeks of leave will no longer be subject to management discretion or operational requirements.

A lawyer who becomes pregnant will see no change to their 16 weeks of maternity leave entitlement.
You can find a summary chart of maternity and parental leaves and allowances here.