the pandemic has thrown paid sick leave into the national spotlight as canada grapples with stemming the spread of covid-19. on friday, a sick-days deal between the federal ndp and liberals prevented the minority government, led by the liberals, from being forced to call an election.
here’s what we know so far:
paid sick leave
according to a
march report
from the canadian centre for policy alternatives, “only 38 per cent of illness or disability leave and 23 cent of family responsibility leave was paid by employers in 2019, compared to 72 per cent of vacation leave.” the six industries where workers were the least likely to get paid leave were: accommodation and food services; agriculture, construction; forestry and logging; business, building and other support services; and retail trade.
currently, the amount of sick days a worker can take off is set by the provinces and the rules
differ from region to region
.
at the beginning of the pandemic in march, the
canadian labour congress
(clc)
called for
the federal and provincial governments to work on a uniform sick leave policy, suggesting 14 days of paid sick time. it has been an issue the group has spent years advocating for.
spring promises
in may, prime minister justin trudeau
said
he would work with the provinces to secure 10 days of paid sick leave per year for all workers. during his then-daily press conferences, trudeau told reporters: “the government will continue discussions with the provinces without delay on ensuring that as we enter the recovery phase of the pandemic, every worker in canada who needs it has access to 10 days of paid sick leave a year.”