Just in case you were tempted to move there by recent posts that made Canada look like the parents' paradise, where everyone just shuttled back and forth between hockey games, lavishly subsidized child care, and endless free surgeries, be sure to read this article before you go.
It's about how many men find it hard to balance work and family responsibilities because their companies taunt, demote or fire them if they actually take the paternity leave authorized by Canadian law. "That's for your wife to do," bellows the headline.
Um, actually, it bellows ´C'est ý ta femme de faire Áa!ª If you find you're not getting much out of the article, it's because it's written in freakin' Quebecois, dude. It's not just the way they pronounce 'aboot'; it's a totally different language up there. At least on the food labels.
´C'est ý ta femme de faire Áa!ª [le devoir, via Camerondotca]
Non-Quebeckers can read an amusing translation via Google
Quebec is not Canada
Hah.. the above comment spoken like a true (English) Canadian... :)
I've had my share of really great Francophone friends over the years, but there is some truth in the fact that the culture of Quebec is quite different from other parts of the country. Out here on the west coast, a lot of men I know have taken very liberal paternity leaves...
gbot and cam, the laws are quite liberal, 1 year total split between the parents at 55% of your salary, and I know lots of guys who have take the at least 6 months (an upstairs neighbor works for Loto QuÈbec and he took 10 months ñ good union deal I guess) but the article's point is that men who get hassle free leave are an exception.
Oh, and the translation? FUNNEEEE.
We say the same thing about the Red States. Unfortunately, as we found out, they still are part of the US.
gbot....tsk tsk.....you need a time out bunny!
My husband and I talked about it, but the one of the fundamental reasons why men opt out of p-leave is because they are usually the higher wage earner. And lets not even go there/here/wherever there is!
Uma hit the mark fairly accurately. Husbands go back to work because of the wage disparity. In any situation where it financially made sense for the husband to stay home, they did.
When my son was born (here in the US) my husband was told by his boss that he wasn't allowed to take any time off for FMLA. When he went to ask HR about it, they told him that he was allowed to, but "men never do." Not any sort of direct threat that he'd lose his job, or anything blatantly actionable like that, just sort of making him an offer he couldn't refuse.
I hate people.
One of my friends told the Dean of the department that I do contract work for that his wife was pregnant, instead of congratulations the first words out of his mouth were "I hope you aren't thinking of taking parental leave, I hate that."