Here's what we know about Canada's new parental benefit plan so far

If you’ve ever considered getting help from a surrogate to have a child, now might be a good time to weigh your options — Canada is working on a new parental benefit plan for people like you.

According to a CTV News exclusive interview with the federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, the country plans to implement a benefit plan for parents looking to have a child via surrogacy.

Like a parental leave, this plan will offer parents extra time off to bond with their new family member — 15 weeks, to be exact.

You might also like:
• Canada Child Benefit is going up and you could get $7,000 per kid, tax free
• BUDGET 2023: BC benefit for families with kids to permanently increase
• Here are the best ways Canadians can get a bigger tax refund this year

Right now, the government offers standard and extended parental benefits to Canadians who have adopted a child without the assistance of a surrogate. Couples can split 40 weeks between each other, or one parent can get 35 weeks off. The parent who has birthed a child can also get 15 additional weeks off.

“It’s a matter of equity. We need to make sure people bond, and we heard that very loudly during our consultations on Employment Insurance [EI] modernization that parents want this, and we are going to deliver it for them,” Minister Qualtrough told CTV in a statement.

Implementing this new benefit will involve changes to employment insurance, and Canadians can expect more detailed announcements about it over the next few months.