Question Period Note: PROVIDING TEN DAYS OF PAID SICK LEAVE FOR ALL FEDERALLY REGULATED WORKERS

Will the Government move forward with introducing ten days of paid sick leave for all federally regulated workers?

• The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that many Canadians have either limited or no access to paid, short-term sick leave.

• As a result, workers may have to choose between staying home and not getting paid or going to work sick which may slow their recovery and put co-workers or clients at risk.

• Paid sick leave empowers employees to prioritize their health and the health and safety of their workplaces. That’s why our government is committed to introducing legislation that will provide ten days of paid sick leave for federally-regulated employees.

• We will also be convening provinces and territories to develop a national action plan for paid sick leave across the country, while respecting provincial-territorial jurisdiction and the unique needs of small business owners.

Electoral platform commitment

• The Liberal Party of Canada’s electoral platform commits, within 100 days to:

o “introduce amendments to the Canada Labour Code to provide 10 days of paid sick leave for all federally regulated workers;” and

o “convene provinces and territories to develop a national action plan to legislate sick leave across the country, while respecting provincial-territorial jurisdiction and the unique needs of small business owners.”

Leaves related to personal illness or injury under the Canada Labour Code

• Part III (Labour Standards) of the Canada Labour Code provides employees in federally regulated industries with several leaves related to personal illness or injury:

o Personal leave provides employees with up to five days of leave per year for personal illness or injury, family responsibilities, urgent matters concerning themselves or their families, or attending their citizenship ceremony. The first three days of this leave must be paid if the employee has completed at least three consecutive months of continuous employment with the employer.

o Medical leave provides employees with an unpaid leave of up to 17 weeks if they are unable to work due to personal illness or injury, organ or tissue donation, or medical appointments during working hours. Employees may also take up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave as a result of quarantine. While taking the leave, an employee may be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits. The Budget Implementation Act 2021, No. 1 (BIA) increased the maximum length of the medical leave to 27 weeks (expected to come into force by Order in Council in the second half of 2022).

o Work-related illness or injury leave: Part III also provides employees the right to be absent from work for an indefinite period if they suffer a work-related illness or injury. Employers are required to subscribe to a plan that will replace the employee's wages according to the workers’ compensation laws applicable in the employee’s province of permanent residence.

o Leave of Absence for Members of the Reserve Force: Members of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve Force are entitled to take leave for as long as necessary to treat, recover from, or undergo rehabilitation for a physical or mental health problem that results from service in an operation or activity listed in the Code. While on leave, employees are entitled to various compensation programs provided by the Government of Canada.

o Leave related to COVID-19: In March 2020, the Code was amended to create the leave related to COVID-19. The leave allows employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for up to four weeks if they are unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19, including if they have contracted or might have contracted COVID-19, and up to 42 weeks if they are unable to work because of caregiving responsibilities related to COVID 19. The leave related to COVID-19 is aligned with the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit. The benefits and the leave are currently set to end on November 20, 2021, though the Government has signalled its intention to extend the life of the benefits and the leave until May 7, 2022, and to increase the maximum number of weeks.

Existing protections in the provinces and territories

• Two provinces currently have permanent requirements for employers to provide paid leave to treat a personal illness or injury. In Prince Edward Island, employees who have completed five years of continuous employment with their employer are entitled to one day of paid leave (in addition to three days without pay) per year. In Quebec, employees who have completed three months of service are entitled to two days of paid leave per year for a wide variety of reasons, including sickness, in addition to up to 26 weeks of unpaid sick leave.

• British Columbia has recently finished consultations on the establishment of a permanent paid illness and injury leave program that would come into force on January 1, 2022. The number of paid days that would be available under this new program has not been announced.

• There is significant variation in the amount of unpaid sick leave provided by provinces and territories (PTs). For instance, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island provide fewer than seven days of unpaid sick leave, while Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan provide 12 weeks or more.

COVID-19 temporary paid sick leave rebate programs

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Yukon introduced temporary sick leave rebate programs whereby employers are reimbursed up to a certain amount of the money they paid to employees who use their entitlement to paid sick days. The Manitoba program expired on October 23, 2021, the British Columbia and Ontario programs are set to expire on December 31, 2021, and the Yukon program was extended until September 30, 2022

• Responsibility for the regulation of labour matters is constitutionally divided between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government has exclusive authority to legislate labour standards for the federally regulated private sector. This includes about 955,000 employees (or approximately 6 percent of all Canadian employees) working for 18,500 employers in industries such as banking, telecommunications, broadcasting and inter-provincial and international transportation (including air, rail, maritime and road transportation), for federal Crown corporations, as well as for certain activities on First Nations reserves. Labour standards for other sectors – such as manufacturing, construction, primary industries (with the exception of uranium mining and grain handling), and wholesale and retail trade – fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces and territories.

• Part III of the Canada Labour Code applies to federally regulated private sector enterprises, and establishes minimum working conditions regarding different types of leave, hours of work, minimum wages, annual vacations, termination of employment and severance pay.

• Roughly 582,700 employees, representing roughly 63 percent of workers covered under Part III, have access to fewer than 10 days of paid sick leave. In smaller businesses of less than 100 employees, this figure goes up to 85 percent.