Parental Leave
The new parental leave finally got accepted by the physics department! Read the full text here
WiP is committed to advocating for universal paid parental leave options for graduate students and postdocs. In the meantime, there are several existing mechanisms for paid parental leave (a nonexhaustive list is below), and we encourage students and postdocs to - if comfortable - discuss their needs with their supervisor or graduate program director, as this may open other opportunities.
Graduate students and postdocs paid out of an NSERC grant
NSERC offers up to 6 months of paid parental leave – i.e. they provide additional funds for this purpose. Note that there is currently no minimum duration for which a student or postdoc must be paid out of an NSERC grant prior to a parental leave.
More info here
Graduate students paid out of an FRQNT grant
FRQNT offers up to 8 months of paid parental leave to students who have been paid from an FRQNT grant for 6 months prior to the leave. There are different websites for each type of FRQNT grant, but this rule appears to apply across most grants.
More info here
NSERC Scholarship recipients
NSERC offers up to 6 months of paid parental leave.
More info here
FRQNT Scholarship recipients
FRQNT offers paid parental leave for up to 8 months.
QPIP
Some individuals may be eligible for the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (however typically this does not apply to graduate students).
Postdoctoral researchers – collective bargaining agreement
Unionized postdoctoral researchers are bound by a collective bargaining agreement that has provisions for paid parental leave beyond QPIP. The collective bargaining agreement as of August 2017 can be found here.