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February 12th, 2021

REALITY CHECK: Sick Leave failure a symptom of PM inaction

As Ontario, Alberta and other provinces set to throw open their doors for business, working Canadians aren’t accessing the sick days needed to stomp out a new COVID wave and new variants.

Worse yet, a recent report from the Medical Officer of Health or Peel Region outlines major workplace problems: workers returning to work following the onset of COVID symptoms or even after they received positive COVID test results.

So what happened to those sick days the Prime Minister promised last summer? We’re sure he’ll blame the Premiers. But recall that he promised to lead this file:

“Discussions with the provinces with paid sick leave could be significant help and that’s what we agreed to lead with the provinces- Justin Trudeau, May 25, 2020

Yet, when you look at all the Readoutsfrom the Prime Minister’s official communications with Premiers, Justin Trudeau quit talking about sick days last July.

What exactly has the Prime Minister been doing since last summer while COVID ravages workplaces?

If fighting COVID needs a Team Canada approach, the Captain has failed to show up for the second half.

Frontline Canadian workers and their families deserve better.