Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one in six Canadian couples experience infertility. The costs of fertility treatments are financially, emotionally, and physically exhausting. Most companies, policies, and initiatives focus on issues like duration of parental leave, post leave integration, and work life balance. While pregnancy and child birth are highly visible and often celebrated, fertility challenges tend to be invisible, silent, and devastating.
Some employers are working to walk the talk when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing and supporting the diverse ways that families grow. Canadians are calling on infertility to be covered by health care given its status as a valid medical condition, and as a result seven Canadian provinces provide financial support to residents for fertility treatment.
Nova Scotia and Manitoba offer a tax credit of up to 40 percent of treatment costs. New Brunswick has a one-time grant of $5,000. While in PEI, IVF grants run from $5,000 to $10,000 depending on family income. In Newfoundland and Labrador, IVF treatments are subsidized at $5,000 per cycle to a maximum of three cycles. These funds are intended to support travel as there is no IVF provider in the province. Quebec and Ontario both have programs that pay for one round of IVF treatment. And BC Liberals are currently proposing similar public funding.
Mr. Speaker, to recruit skilled workers in a tight labour market, some Canadian employers are starting to offer these fertility benefits.
TD Bank offers benefits for reproductive treatments and costs associated with surrogacy, donors, and adoption with a $20,000 lifetime maximum for each benefit. Scotia Bank offers a lifetime maximum of $10,000 for surrogacy, fertility or adoption expenses. CIBC offers a lifetime maximum of 15,000 for fertility and a separate lifetime maximum of $15,000 for surrogacy expenses. Mr. Speaker, even Starbucks offers a lifetime maximum of $30,000 to employees for family expansion.
Yes, the cost of fertility treatments are financially burdensome, but in the world of health insurance, fertility benefits are not costly or risky to include because they are considered nonrecurring health claims, and employees are unlikely to spend money on fertility every year of their life in perpetuity.
When I started my research, I expected to find a growth strategy that would set the North apart. But, Mr. Speaker, it appears the North has already fallen behind in offering inclusive support for a chronic illness that speaks to the needs of Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Ministers of Health and Social Services and Finance and hopefully update our territory's support for the diverse ways that families grow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.