The City of Moose Jaw will be adopting a new policy that will make it easier for councillors to take parental leave. 

City council voted unanimously to adopt the new policy. 

Last year, a remuneration committee was struck consisting of Greg McIntyre, Brenda Berry and city solicitor Myron Gulka-Tiechko. 

One of the recommendations was to look at the potential leave of absence policies to allow for parental leave of absence for younger council members to attract a wider variety of people to run for city office. 

“We don't want to make that the possibility of adding to your family a hindrance to throwing your name in the pool here. I think the times come that we have to adopt this,” said Coun. Kim Robinson. 

Previously, if an elected official misses three consecutive months they would be removed from council. 

“The City's Act does indicate that if somebody is going to be absent for a number of months that they are declared off council, so the consequences are severe if there isn't a policy in place,” Gulka-Tiechko explained. 

The report to city council on Monday night stated leave for elected officials has become provincially regulated in several other provinces, but not in Saskatchewan. 

In 2019, a Saskatchewan Urban Municipality Association (SUMA) delegation defeated a motion to make it easier for municipal councillors to take extended leaves during their time on council. 

Mayor Fraser Tolmie was a part of those SUMA conversations. 

“When that motion came forward in 2019, there were 300 people in a room that were making a decision about your individual council. I really didn't have enough information,” Tolmie said.  

“After reading through this report, I think that it is a fair report. Maybe I might be the odd person out here, but this has changed my mind." 

The new policy would apply to any members of council who will be absent from meetings for 20 consecutive weeks or less as a result of the councillor's pregnancy, the birth of a councillor's child, the adoption of a child, or parental leave. 

The councillor taking parental leave would then need six weeks’ written notice to the city clerk and the mayor of their intent to take a leave of absence and must sign a parental leave agreement to comply with the terms of the agreement.

The administrative review officer can investigate complaints against any councillors related to the policy.