I've written before about my positive experiences with the civil services in Quebec. It turns out that the goodness of this province extends to the administrative elements of having baby. Now, I have no idea what to expect -- perhaps it's exactly the same in the rest of the country, but I have been very impressed with how streamlined much of this process has been. A process that I assumed would have me running around to government offices, waiting in lines, paying all sorts of admin fees.
So far, I've declared Tim's birth, received a birth certificate and health card, and registered for a child tax benefit ($$ deposited monthly in my bank account!) with a lick of a stamp and few mouse clicks. I didn't have to look anything up -- all the info I needed was provided to me by either the midwives (a government service), or just out of the blue in the mail from the government itself. Cool, huh? Not to mention that every services comes with an English translation.
But the big (giant!) surprise bonus of living in Quebec has been qualifying for maternity/parental benefits. I am not even kidding. After quitting my job 7 months before having a baby, the government of Quebec STILL considers me eligible for a year-long maternity "leave".* And Quebec pays better than the Feds.
So, besides the lower cost of housing, groceries and beer, there are all these additional bonuses, and one day, I will reap the further benefit of subsidized daycare. I tell ya, do not listen to anyone who gripes about having to pay higher taxes in la Belle Province. It's money well-spent.
Timothy approves!
Once word gets out, I am certain that Hull will become the next Westboro. ;-)
* A few years ago, Quebec won the right from the Federal government to administer it's own Parental Insurance Program. Awesome.
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