What's happening with paid sick leave in Canada

This week, the new Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit took effect for people unable to work because they are sick, must isolate, or take care of someone due to COVID-19. While this is not the paid sick days you know your patients need, these new benefits are a direct result of our ongoing efforts advocating for paid sick leave.

New federal sickness benefit

After negotiations between the Liberal government and federal NDP, access to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit was expanded to include people that may be susceptible to COVID-19 due to pre-existing conditions or other sickness. People who have or might have COVID-19 or who need to isolate will also be able to access the benefit, which provides up to two weeks of income support of $500/week. Workers can apply if they missed 50% of their work hours in a week. 

But effective paid sick days legislation must be accessible without barriers or disruption to income. Rather than losing 50% of wages and applying to get a reimbursement after the fact, paid sick days must allow our patients to make the decision to stay home without risking their financial livelihoods. We know from experience, that barrier-free paid sick days are crucial for workers to protect themselves and the public. Read this important analysis from our allies in BC about why federal sickness benefits fall short of what workers need.

We must continue to call for employer-provided paid sick days implemented through employment standards. This would allow people to stay home at the onset of illness – before they know if they will end up losing 50% of the week’s income. Enabling workers to stay home on this first day of symptoms is essential to stopping the spread of infectious disease – from foodborne illness to the flu to COVID-19.

Another major gap in these new income supports is the exclusion of thousands of migrants without a valid social insurance number (SIN). Many have been unable to renew their SIN because of delays in processing of work and study permits and Permanent Residency applications. To protect public health, we must protect everyone. Add your name to the growing call for #StatusForAll organized by the Migrant Rights Network. 

Keeping pressure on the provinces

Paid sick leave is on the agenda. Now is the time for provincial governments to step up and deliver permanent paid sick days that are accessible to all workers through employment standards. As COVID-19 case counts rise, the health of racialized, low-income and women workers will continue to be hardest hit. The evidence is overwhelming and we know our patients cannot wait any longer. Remember to keep sharing our petition calling on Premiers across the country for paid sick days! 

Take note: Today, Ontario’s minimum wage was adjusted for inflation from $14 to $14.25. Had the provincial government not cancelled the $15 minimum wage that had been scheduled for January 2019, our minimum wage today would be $15.65 (for more info, click here). As health workers, we know income is the most important social determinant of health. This is one reason we support fair wages for all workers. 

Anti-Indigenous racism in the health system

Yesterday was #OrangeShirtDay, a day to recognize the experiences of Indigenous peoples forced to surrender their children to residential schools and the ongoing impacts of the violence of residential schools. As health workers, we must commit to dismantling systemic racism and colonialism in our communities and in the health system every day of the year. 

Health worker and DWHN member, Ritika Goel, reminds us that “Indigenous people have been calling attention to the racist and genocidal policies they have endured for centuries. Their resilience is what brings us to today in an era of Reconciliation. We have to do the work. In healthcare, this means thinking about how history including segregated Indian hospitals, forced sterilization of Indigenous women, and general distrust of the state impacts Indigenous people seeking care or choosing not to. We have to rebuild broken trust.” Read her twitter thread here.

This piece in The Star written by four health workers also calls on medical practitioners to reflect on residential schools as an “example of medical colonialism” and to strive “to begin healing those wounds by committing to building a relationship of understanding, trust and respect between our health care systems and Indigenous peoples.”