Kathryn Connors and John Amy lost four pregnancies to miscarriage. After the last resulted in massive internal bleeding and near-fatal cardiac arrest, the couple’s doctor advised them to stop trying because he couldn’t guarantee Connors would survive.“That’s when Joe said we need to rethink how we’re going to be parents,” Connors said.They started researching adoption. Six years ago, when the couple welcomed two sibling toddlers with a complex range of special needs into their “forever home” in Brampton, they had no idea federal legislation worked against them.“Because we adopted two toddlers at the same time, I thought the government would recognize the challenges and provide support,” Connors said. “We were shocked to learn that not only do we not get extra help, we get less help than a biological parent.” The reality is that parents who adopt a child are eligible for nine and not 12 months of standard leave at 55 per cent of their average weekly earnings. A new report on the inqueality from researchers at Western University calls on government to change that. Researchers and adoption advocacy groups are pressing the government to provide “attachment benefits” — three more months of paid leave equal to what biological parents receive — to give adoptive parents more time to bond with their kids and find them the medical and educational supports they need. “Most people don’t know about the inequality,” says the report’s lead author Carolyn McLeod, a professor in philosophy and women’s studies. “You tell them and they say, ‘Well that just seems wrong.’”Read more:New five week, use-it-or-lose-it paternity leave benefit kicks inCanadian couples left in limbo as foreign adoptions decline and agencies shutterA lawyer`s international journey to adopt former client`s childThe current system is “discriminatory,” ...
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