Whereas current provincial legislation does not adequately protect the parental leave rights of local government elected officials, requiring local governments to adopt their own policies for approving leaves for elected officials who become parents; And whereas the Province of BC collectively, and through its various ministries, recognizes that parental leave for elected officials is an important issue and that it is important for new parents to have adequate time and energy to spend with their child: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the Province of BC to amend all relevant pieces of provincial legislation, such as the Community Charter, the Vancouver Charter, and the Local Government Act, in order to establish common, province-wide minimum entitlements for parental leave for locally elected officials following the birth or adoption of a child, consistent with the Employment Standards Act provisions following the birth or adoption of a child, and inclusive of leave provisions that would grant an elected official an exemption from any disqualification from office for absences of sixty consecutive days or four consecutive regularly scheduled council or board meetings.
