'Scottie's Law': The Ontario Government's new job-protected parental leave for families built by surrogacy and adoption

Baden Colt and Zane Colt stand at the podium at the Working for Workers Act 6 announcement.

After several years of advocacy work, we are proud to announce that 'Scottie's Law', named for our daughter, has passed and was signed into law in Ontario.

What is 'Scottie's Law'?

'Scottie's Law' is the portion of the Working for Workers 6 Act that ensures that families built by surrogacy and adoption are afforded the same job-protected parental leave as families where a parent gives birth to the child.

To get technical, it creates a new 16-week job protected parental leave to ensure that parents have adequate time to bond with their new little one, and create equity among all Ontario parents. It also aligns with upcoming federal changes to create a brand-new employment insurance (EI) benefit for adoption and surrogacy - another piece of advocacy spearheaded by my husband Zane and I.

When does it take effect?

The Working for Workers 6 Act passed unanimously - something that, if you're familiar with politics, you'll know doesn't happen often. Elected officials all agreed that the protections it offers Ontario families are integral and need to take immediate effect. The bill was signed into law on December 19th, 2024.

How many families will this impact?

An estimated 700 families are built by surrogacy or adoption each year in the province of Ontario. That number is estimated to grow over time as surrogacy becomes a more and more common path to growing a family.

How can we get this same job-protected leave extended to other provinces and territories?

So many in the fertility community are proud to call themselves 'advocates' - it's time to prove it! Reach out to your local MLA and the Labour Ministry in your province noting that with the new federal benefit coming soon, most provinces and territories need to carve out a new job-protected leave (or extend the current leave) to accomodate. This will require legislative changes. It will not cost your provincial government money, but is necessary for all provincially-regulated industries. If you're looking for key messages or talking points, feel free to send me a note!