1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This article examines childcare and parental leave policies in Australia and Canada.» (p. 90)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Données documentaires diverses

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

L’auteure aborde les politiques fédérales canadiennes et australiennes en matière de politique familiale en faisant le parallèle avec le modèle québécois. Elle conclut que «[b]oth federal programs can be contrasted to Québec’s, which has utilized the possibilities afforded by Canada’s asymmetrical federalism to establish its own program. Like its childcare program, the Québec parental leave program reflects a stronger commitment to gender equality. In addition to the elimination of the 2 week waiting period for the ‘first parent’, the Québec plan includes a 5 week paternity benefit or ‘daddy quota’ and offers a higher rate of remuneration (75 percent to a maximum of $57,000) for 7 weeks. It also includes the self-employed. These features have had an impact not only on eligibility levels for women (77 percent versus 62 percent in the rest of Canada) but also on fathers’ participation rates. Thus, in 2006, 56 percent of eligible Québec fathers claimed vs 10 percent of those in the rest of Canada (Marshall 2008). The gender equality assumptions embedded in Québec’s plan in turn reflect the greater influence that Francophone feminists in Québec have on the political parties, especially the Parti Québécois, and on the Québec state and closer relations between the Québec state and civil society groups (Jenson 2002).» (p. 103)