Edmonton city councillors on executive committee have given their blessing to a new parental leave policy for civic politicians. For Councillor Bev Essingler, who helped draft the policy, it’s a way to make city council more diverse.
“We want our councils to reflect our community,” she said. “That’s people of all ages, of all genders, of all nationalities. This is one enabling piece of policy that’s going to encourage more.”
They’ll get 10 weeks paid leave, and can add more with consultation with the rest of council.
“We don’t pay into employment insurance so we’re not entitled to that year,” Esslinger explained.
Under the current system council calls the shots on how much time is missed after seven weeks.
“This is one barrier that we’d like to remove,” Esslinger said.
If a councillor wanted to take more than 10 weeks the individual would work with the rest of council and the clerk’s office to figure out how to cover off some duties, with conference calls, emails and other communication methods.
“Maybe they’ve been off for 10 weeks and they have a routine and they could remotely respond and start calling in and attending meetings,” Esslinger suggested. “A lot of things can be used in technology now.”
Essligner said the policy will come into effect once provincial amendments to the Municipal Government Act receive royal ascent, which is expected later this fall.
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