Where is the federal paid sick days legislation we were promised?

Did you know that federally regulated workers still don't have access to 10 permanent paid sick days that PM Trudeau promised our patients during his election campaign?

Although Bill C-3 received Royal Assent, the federal paid sick days law has not been implemented yet. We previously pressured the government to fix the gaps in the bill that clearly contradicted medical best practice. We must continue holding them accountable to their promise.

Join our phone zap tomorrow at 6:00PM and 9:00PM EST with partners across the country demanding urgent action on federal paid sick days.

We are calling the federal government to immediately do the following: 

1. Implement the law

The federal government has indicated that it intends to engage with employer stakeholders towards the implementation of federal paid sick leave. Frontline workers are working through the devastating Omicron crisis right now. Our patients cannot afford to wait any longer for action to implement 10 paid sick days. It is critical that the Governor in Council immediately make an order to bring federal paid sick leave into force.

1. Fix the accrual model

Due to immense pressure from health workers and supporters, we successfully pushed a change on this key issue. The latest version of the law has workers “earning” 3 paid sick days after 1 month of employment and then having to accrue a day per month worked. This means that access to the full 10 permanent paid sick days would take a minimum of 9 months.

We must be clear: our patients should not be required to “earn” the right to stay home while sick. Workers are the backbone of this country’s economy and implying that there is more that needs to be done to justify access to this basic human right is simply wrong.

Last week, we sent a letter to the Minister of labour outlining the concerns mentioned above. But if we are going to be effective, we need your help. Please add your name in sending a message to your representative:

Thank you for your continued support and have a great week.