A survey conducted for Pampers by Ipsos Reid found some very significant differences between fathers and expecting fathers in Quebec and in the rest of Canada.
- Fathers in Quebec (87%) are much more likely than those in
Ontario (65%), Atlantic Canada
(64%), British Columbia (61%), Alberta (53%) or Saskatchewan and Manitoba (53%) to say that they were ‘completely prepared’ for parenthood.
- Quebecers were also most likely to say they knew how to burp a baby (88%) when their first child was born, but British Columbians (84%) were most likely to say they knew how to change a diaper, and how to put their newborn down to sleep (86%).
- Fathers in Quebec (89%) are most likely to say that they and their wife were equally prepared for parenthood, followed by those in British Columbia (83%), Atlantic Canada (77%), Ontario (75%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (67%) and Alberta (65%).
- Quebecers (86%) were most likely to say that their wife was a great source of information, while those in Atlantic Canada (84%), British Columbia (83%),Saskatchewan and Manitoba (80%), Ontario (80%) and Alberta (67%) were less likely.
Perhaps this can be explained in part by the impact of Quebec’s Parental Insurance Plan introduced in 2006, which included higher benefit rates, no unpaid waiting period, coverage of the self-employed and a five-week non-transferable leave for fathers.
The program had an immediate effect when it was introduced in 2006.
Of those men eligible for the program, 56% claimed benefits in 2006, up from 32% in 2005. The participation rate
for fathers outside Quebec remained steady over the three years examined, at
around 11%. And even
though the parental leave benefit program was the same across Canada prior to 2006, Quebec had a
consistently higher proportion of fathers claiming benefits. For more on this,
read Statistics Canada’s study, "Fathers' use of paid parental leave" published in Perspectives on Labour and Income.
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