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Ottawa (ON)  - The Federal government announced that it will introduce new rules this fall that would extend parental leave benefits to the more than 2.7 million self-employed Canadians.

The Cultural Human Resources Council joins artists and cultural workers across the country in voicing support for this welcome legislation.

"We have been working for years to draw attention to the needs of self-employed artists and cultural workers to access social benefits through employment insurance", said Susan Annis, Executive Director of CHRC. "We are thrilled with this first step in this direction."

Officials say the government's employment insurance legislation will be introduced before Parliament some time after Thanksgiving and before Christmas.

Ferne Downey, a member of CHRC's Board of Directors and ACTRA National President, explains that her union has been fighting for years to get government to recognize that self-employed Canadians deserve the same access to benefits as employed workers. "We are urging all parties to support the extension of parental leave benefits to all workers," adds Ferne Downey.

The Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) is committed to strengthening the cultural labour force, and strives to be at the centre of vision and forward thinking in the area of cultural human resources development. CHRC brings together representatives of arts disciplines and cultural industries in the cultural sector to address the training and career development needs of employers and cultural workers including artists, technical staff and managers For more information please visit our website.