The couple of Liberal MPs, Marwa Rizqy and Gregory Kelley, become the first parents to sit in the chamber with their baby. On Tuesday, they took part in the question period with little Gabriel, barely 2 months old.
Gregory Kelley, is also the first dad to get up to ask a question in the room with his baby in a baby carrier.
“A former colleague and now a jouster, Émilise, was a bit of an inspiration for Marwa and for me when she went to the room with her baby, we said to ourselves ‘it’s possible'”, says the MP for Jacques Cartier.
“It is possible to have a baby and stay in politics, but it is true that our case is a bit special because we are [tous] both of the deputies,” he said.
Currently, no parental leave is provided for politicians in Quebec.
“When the laws in parliament were created, it was really a different era. Things have changed in Quebec. Things have changed in Canada and I think we are capable of adapting our National Assembly”, explains Kelley.
The member believes that one day it will be necessary to define parental leave for elected officials, even if he underlines the effort that has already been made in terms of flexibility.
