Maternity and parental leave in the inshore and coastal commercial fisheries
In Atlantic Canada and Quebec, inshore and coastal licence holders must personally fish the licence issued in their name. In 2020, this policy requirement was enshrined in the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 and the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations.
Subsection 23(2) of the Fishery (General) Regulations provides an accommodation to the owner-operator requirement to personally fish by authorizing substitute operators, in certain circumstance subject to the department’s approval when a licence holder cannot fish due to “circumstances beyond their control”. The Commercial Fisheries Licensing Policy for Eastern Canada limits substitute operator authorizations for medical reasons to a maximum of five years.
On December 5, 2024, the Minister announced new maternity and parental leave substitute operator categories in Eastern Canada.
These new categories respond to feedback collected from stakeholder engagements and aim to incentivize the next generation of harvesters to join the fishing industry and provide more flexibility to those with new families.
What do the new categories for substitute operator allow
Maternity leave allows a pregnant eligible licence holder, or an eligible licence holder that has given birth, to designate a substitute operator to operate a licence or licences on their behalf. This category is available to licence holders after they become pregnant and/or within the 17 week period following the birth of a child.
Parental leave allows an eligible licence holder, who became a new parent by birth or adoption, to designate a substitute operator to operate a licence or licences on their behalf for up to 35 weeks after the date of birth or date of adoption. If a licence holder has been approved to designate a substitute operator under the maternity leave category, this 35 week period may begin following the end of the 17 week period available via the maternity category.
Who is eligible
The licence holder making a request for maternity or parental leave must be issued an inshore or coastal commercial licence at the time of the request, be pregnant and/or be the parent (including adoption) of a new child.
How do I apply
Eligible licence holders can access the maternity and parental leave substitute operators by using the same regional process they use when requesting a substitute operator.
What do I need to apply
To be authorized under the maternity leave substitute operator category, an eligible inshore or costal licence holder must provide a medical practitioner’sFootnote 1 note indicating their name, a confirmation that they are pregnant, and the anticipated due date or proof of birth.
To be authorized under the parental leave category for substitute operators, an eligible inshore or costal licence holder must provide proof of birthFootnote 2 or adoptionFootnote 3.
What else do I need to know
Eligible licence holders have access to maternity or parental leave without limit on the number of occurrences. Supporting documentation as noted above, is required with each request.
Maternity leave can start from the day the request is approved by DFO and can end up to a maximum of 119 calendar days (17 weeks) after the day of birth or the anticipated due date, whichever is later. For safety reasons, a pregnant licence holder may request a substitute operator for maternity leave at any time during the pregnancy once they have been confirmed to be pregnant. The use of maternity leave prior to the birth of the child for safety reasons will not be deducted from the 17 weeks that is available following the birth of the child.
Parental leave can start from the day the request is approved by DFO after the date of birth or adoption, and last up to a maximum of 245 calendar days (35 weeks). This category is not available beyond 35 weeks following the date of birth or adoption.
A licence holder who makes use of maternity leave may also be eligible for parental leave.
While licence holders have the ability to designate a Medical Substitute Operator for up to five years over their career, the maternity and parental substitute operator authorizations will not be counted towards the five-year maximum.
Unlike employment insurance, the maternity and parental leave within the substitute operator policy do not provide financial benefits based on insurable employment or include benefit sharing requirements.
When will these new categories will come into force
New requests will be accepted starting on January 1, 2025.
Contact us
- Gulf Region
- GulfinfoGolfe@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
- Phone: 1-855-634-2355
- Newfoundland and Labrador Region
- Maritimes Region
- Quebec Region
- Fishing-peche@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
- Phone: 1-877-535-7307
- Date modified: