Health-care workers press Trudeau to keep his campaign promise on paid sick leave
Global News
Trudeau has said an early priority of his newly re-elected government will be to give all federally regulated workers 10 days of paid sick leave within 100 days of his new mandate.
A coalition of front-line health-care workers has asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fast-track proposed legislative amendments to grant paid sick leave to federally regulated workers.
Trudeau has said an early priority of his newly re-elected government will be to give all federally regulated workers 10 days of paid sick leave, and work with provinces and territories on better sick-leave policies for all Canadians.
He pledged to do so within 100 days of receiving a new mandate, but the Decent Work and Health Network says that’s not fast enough.
“My patients cannot afford any more delays. And frankly, we shouldn’t have to wait 100 days for paid sick days,” said Dr. Gaibrie Stephen, an emergency physician from Peel, Ont., with the Decent Work and Health Network.
“Diseases are not waiting 100 days to infect our patients.”
A lack of paid sick leave has been a major problem for many Canadians during the pandemic who couldn’t afford to stay home when ill, risking the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces.
During the election, Trudeau said as the country’s largest employer, it is up to the federal government to set the example.
The Decent Work and Health Network held an online news conference to call on the government to immediately amend the Canadian Labour Code to provide 10 paid sick days for federal workers, with 14 extra days during public health emergencies.