iPolitics By Iain Sherriff-Scott. Published on Apr 29, 2021 5:04pm Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton, pictured at a news conference in June 2020, announced a paid sick leave program on Wednesday. (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star)
Ontario’s legislature passed three days of paid sick leave on Thursday, while opposition parties promised to keep fighting for at least 10 paid days of leave.
The new benefit provides $200 for up to three days that a worker is off sick. The government will reimburse businesses for the cost of the program, which ends on Sept. 25.
Announced Wednesday by Labour Minister Monte McNaughton and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, the legislation comes after months of pressure from health-care organizations and the government’s arms-length science advisers.
VANCOUVER More than a year after the B.C. government began trumpeting the importance of paid sick leave to keep people from bringing COVID-19 into the workplace, officials have yet to implement a provincial policy supporting workers. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Premier John Horgan said his administration is still planning to introduce a program to address gaps in the federal government s Canada Sickness Recovery Benefit, and that more details would be shared in the days ahead. Work was done through the summer to bring forward a provincial plan and we re taking those off the shelf and looking at how we can implement that in a seamless way, without putting more burden on business at a time when business can least afford it, Horgan said.
The Ontario government should consider working directly with the employers of essential workers to deliver paid sick leave as the province grapples with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
Feds say Ontario should introduce paid sick leave program as PC government ducks calls for its own toronto.ctvnews.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from toronto.ctvnews.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
KITCHENER A bill that would guarantee 10 paid sick days per year for all workers in Ontario was voted down 20 to 55 at Queen’s Park Monday. Out of the seven local MPPs, only three were present at Queen’s Park and able to vote on Bill 247 due to COVID-19 protocols. Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife voted in favour of the bill. In a statement, she said in part, “It is clearer than ever that the province needs to do the right thing and provide Ontario’s workers with the ability to stay home if they are sick… Paid sick days are a key tool for slowing and stopping this cycle of transmission.”