New Democrats ready to fight for Canadians as Parliament reconvenes

OTTAWA – The second wave of COVID-19 is making the lives of Canadians harder. People need help and the Liberal government is failing families who are losing their livelihood and struggling to keep their loved ones safe from the spread of the virus. Today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he is ready to go back to Parliament next week and keep fighting for people who need help now.

“Since Parliament rose in December, the COVID crisis has only deepened and Canadians continue to be rocked by news of increased cases and deaths,” said the NDP Leader. “Long-term care homes are still profiting off the neglect of seniors and workers still don’t have easy access to paid sick leave. The Liberals are failing people in this pandemic. New Democrats are ready to fight for them.”

Just last week, New Democrats asked that Parliament be recalled early in order to provide Parliamentarians with the ability to ask questions that are top of mind for their constituents related to the pandemic. One of the many things that people are worried about is access to paid sick leave. The Liberal government is not doing its job in making paid sick leave accessible for workers who don’t want to spread the virus and still need to be able to pay their bills.

"The Liberals must fix the paid sick leave program immediately so workers can stay home if they’re sick to protect their community,” said Singh. “Most cases are happening in workplaces as workers aren’t benefiting from the paid sick leave. Canadians wants to do the right thing. The Liberals need to fix this program now to save people’s lives.”