An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code

Sponsor

Seamus O'Regan  Liberal

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is, or will soon become, law.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) create an offence of intimidating a person in order to impede them from obtaining health services, intimidating a health professional in order to impede them in the performance of their duties or intimidating a person who assists a health professional in order to impede the person in providing that assistance;
(b) create an offence of obstructing or interfering with a person’s lawful access to a place at which health services are provided, subject to a defence of attending at the place for the purpose only of obtaining or communicating information; and
(c) add the commission of an offence against a person who was providing health services and the commission of an offence that had the effect of impeding another person from obtaining health services as aggravating sentencing factors for any offence.
It also amends the Canada Labour Code to, among other things,
(a) extend theperiod during which an employee may take a leave of absencefrom employment in the event of the death of a child and provide for the entitlement of anemployee to a leave of absence in the event of the loss of an unbornchild;
(b) repeal the personal leave that an employee may take to treat their illness or injury;
(c) provide that an employee may earn and take up to 10 days of medical leave of absence with pay in a calendar year; and
(d) authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations to modify, in certain circumstances, the provisions respecting medical leave of absence with pay.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-3s:

C-3 (2020) Law An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code
C-3 (2020) An Act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and the Canada Border Services Agency Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
C-3 (2015) Law Appropriation Act No. 4, 2015-16
C-3 (2013) Law Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act

Votes

Dec. 9, 2021 Passed 2nd reading of Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code
Dec. 8, 2021 Passed Time allocation for Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code

Debate Summary

line drawing of robot

This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Bill C-3 proposes amendments to both the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code. The changes to the Criminal Code aim to protect health care workers and patients by creating new offenses and increasing penalties for intimidation and obstruction of access to health care facilities. The amendments to the Canada Labour Code would provide workers in federally regulated industries with up to 10 days of paid sick leave per year, with the goal of supporting their well-being and preventing the spread of illness in the workplace.

Liberal

  • Supporting paid sick leave: The Liberal Party supports providing 10 days of paid sick leave per year to workers in the federally regulated private sector. This will protect workers' income, jobs, and health, while also curbing the spread of illnesses in the workplace and protecting the economy.
  • Criminal Code amendments: The Liberals aim to amend the Criminal Code to create new offences for intimidating health care workers and obstructing access to health care facilities, with enhanced penalties for those who target health care workers or impede access to health services. This will help ensure safer workplaces for health care professionals and protect the rights of patients to access care.
  • Balancing rights: The Liberal Party believes Bill C-3 would not impede on peaceful demonstrations or the rights of healthcare professionals to protest to improve their own working conditions. The aim is to balance protections for health care workers and patients with the expressive rights of Canadian citizens.
  • Consultation and collaboration: The Liberal Party plans to collaborate with provinces and territories to legislate sick leave across the country, while respecting jurisdiction and considering the unique needs of small business owners. Federally regulated employers, employees, and relevant organizations will also have the opportunity to share their views on implementing the proposed changes.

Conservative

  • Generally supportive: The Conservative party is generally supportive of the bill, believing it is important to support workers. However, members have noted that an unnecessary election delayed progress and prevented committees from addressing other worker support measures.
  • Suggest amendments: Conservatives suggest incorporating a private member's bill from the previous Parliament regarding bereavement leave for parents who have lost a child or experienced a stillbirth. They feel it is appropriate for the government to adopt this motion to provide parents with the necessary support and time to heal.
  • Address violence against workers: Members emphasize the importance of safe passage and protection for all workers, not just healthcare professionals. The party would like to ensure that all workers feel safe at all times, regardless of their sector or role, and hope to further discuss the balance between the right to protest peacefully and the right for workers to be protected from intimidation.
  • Concerns about costs: The Conservatives recognize the importance of supporting workers, but they emphasize the need to keep in mind the struggles of small businesses. They urge caution when imposing new costs on small businesses, who are facing challenges such as increased CPP contributions, carbon tax increases, and higher costs for supplies, shipping, and insurance.

NDP

  • Support for paid sick leave: The NDP strongly supports the bill's provision for 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated workers, as they have been advocating for this measure since the beginning of the pandemic. They consider the inclusion of paid sick leave a victory, but criticize the Liberals for their delayed action and for initially resisting the proposal.
  • Need for improvements: The NDP believes the bill can be improved, particularly regarding the accrual of sick days and the requirement for medical certificates. They suggest allowing immediate access to a minimum number of sick days and removing the requirement for a doctor's note for a single day of leave.
  • Support for protecting health workers: The NDP supports the bill's amendment to the Criminal Code to protect health care workers from intimidation and threats. They insist on the need to safeguard workers' rights to strike and picket during labour disputes.
  • Canada must show leadership: Canada must improve access to vaccinations internationally. Canada should take on the TRIPS waiver and show leadership to ensure that the global south is also protected.

Bloc

  • Support for the bill: The Bloc Québécois will support Bill C-3 because it includes some elements that will benefit Quebec workers, especially health care staff and that any improvement in the employment conditions of any workers ultimately represents a win for all workers.
  • Ten paid sick days: The Bloc supports the bill's proposal to guarantee every federally regulated employee a minimum of 10 paid sick days a year. They believe no one should have to work sick due to financial constraints, and it benefits everyone when infected colleagues stay home.
  • Protect right to protest: The Bloc will ensure the bill does not violate health care workers' rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression and will propose any necessary amendments.
  • Minimal impact: The Bloc is being realistic about what this bill the Liberals are introducing can really do to transform the labour market in Quebec and Canada, calling the bill a PR stunt because it will not amount to much.
Was this summary helpful and accurate?

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5 p.m.

Bloc

Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC

Madam Speaker, there is no interpretation, and I wonder if that might be because my colleague is not wearing the headset required by the House of Commons, which may be a problem for the interpreters.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes

I too thought there was something different about the sound.

I am not sure if the problem is because of the headset the hon. member is using. It does sound different at this end, so there is a problem with interpretation. The member might want to unplug his headset and then plug it in again to see if the computer is picking up the right microphone.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

Madam Speaker, is this better now?

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes

The sound is not good enough.

I have some points of order to address.

The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Damien Kurek Conservative Battle River—Crowfoot, AB

Madam Speaker, I understand the member's frustration. I would simply ask for unanimous consent to allow him to switch places with the next speaker. That would give him 15 minutes or so to work with IT in order to figure out the technical difficulty and address it accordingly.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes

I have another point of order before I go back to the hon. member for Hamilton Centre.

The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC

Madam Speaker, if we are not able to sort out the technical problems for the member for Hamilton Centre, we have the member for Courtenay—Alberni, who would be prepared to take his place and give a speech. We would not agree to passing on the NDP slot for this important debate.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes

We are going to try one more time.

The hon. member for Hamilton Centre.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

Madam Speaker, I appreciate your indulgence and the suggestion from the hon. member from the Conservative side. Is my microphone okay now?

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes

No, it is not working. The hon. member will have to get a House of Commons headset.

There is a point of order from the member for Don Valley East.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Madam Speaker, can you explain what the problem is? I can hear him perfectly.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes

The problem is for translation.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I would suggest that as the member for Hamilton Centre does his work to try to get a better level of sound, we simply move to the member for Courtenay—Alberni.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:05 p.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes

Because of where the time slot is, I will go to the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.

Criminal CodeGovernment Orders

December 6th, 2021 / 5:10 p.m.

NDP

Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to speak to this important bill, Bill C-3. It is great to see both the Liberal Party and, it seems, the Conservative Party coming around to see the importance of paid sick leave. I have talked about this in the House quite significantly and so has my party. In fact, the leader of my party raised this 22 times throughout the pandemic. Here we are, 20 months after the top medical health professionals in our country decided that outside of social distancing and washing our hands, the top two things we could do to stop the spread of the virus and combat COVID-19 were to get vaccinated and for governments to implement paid sick days. It is really great to see that everybody is coming together today to do that, to protect workers, so that people are not spreading the virus.

We talk about people going to work while knowingly showing symptoms of COVID-19 or being unsure whether they should go to work or not. For many of these people, their spouses have perhaps lost their jobs because of COVID-19 or are unable to work, or they are the sole breadwinners in their homes and are scraping to get by even at the best of times. Whatever their circumstances, they are worried about how they are going to pay their bills, like most Canadians. Fifty per cent of Canadians were within two weeks of insolvency prior to the pandemic. We can think about how many families were terrified at the beginning of and throughout the pandemic about missing any work at all and how they were going to pay their bills and feed their families. Paid sick days are absolutely critical.

There is one thing we have not talked about a lot here. I was really honoured to be the small business and tourism critic for the federal NDP for the last six years, and to stand up and fight for small business. We do not talk about how important paid sick days are, not just for workers but also for employers and small business. I was always mystified when Conservatives would not support paid sick leave, because they say they are strong defenders of the economy and small business. I know Liberals were always patting themselves on the back throughout the pandemic on the important needs of small business, but throughout the pandemic, whether it be on the CERB or another program, we had to fight to make sure small businesses would be included. Initially, proprietors were not even going to be allowed to collect CERB.

Initially, people were going to get $1,200. New Democrats were able to put pressure on the government so that people could get $2,000. We brought forward the idea of a commercial rent assistance program. Of course the Liberals bungled it initially. They made sure it was set up and designed so that people had to have a mortgage to be able to apply for rent support. It was landlord-driven instead of tenant-driven. It was a completely broken program. We found out that there were some Liberal insiders delivering the program for the government and we were glad to put pressure on the government to fix that broken commercial rent program. My colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby and I brought the idea to the government. I am glad to see that it finally fixed it.

When it comes to paid sick days, people were going to work unsure of whether they had the virus or not. They were terrified and governments at different levels did not have their backs to make sure people stayed at home instead of bringing COVID-19 to the workplace and possibly infecting co-workers.

Whether it is in the private sector or in government, it is extremely costly when people get sick and spread the virus in the workplace. One would think it would make economic sense to provide a social safety net, so that people who were sick would stay at home, not spreading the virus in the workplace or ending up having to close throughout the country and shut down government services to Canadians. We do not talk enough, not only about the workers, but also about the impact on businesses and the economy. That is a really important argument for why this is absolutely critical.

As much as we appreciate the legislation before us, there are flaws that are apparent in it, such as a person having to work for 11 months to get access to the 10 paid sick days.

The Liberal government said it would restore the cuts to the federal public services that the Conservatives made. I mean, we can look to Veterans Affairs as a great example. The Conservatives gutted one-third of Veterans Affairs Canada under the Harper government. As a result, the backlog has grown to over 40,000 veterans who have been injured serving our country.

The Liberals said they were going to fix it. What did they do? They outsourced and brought people back in on temporary contracts instead of hiring people and sending the message to veterans that they are committed to them in the long term and are going to end the backlog forever and not just outsource for temporary jobs.

The Liberals are notorious for this and do it all the time. They are outsourcing throughout the government, and this is creating a huge problem, because we have contract flipping going on. Obviously, we do not want this practice to continue. We want the government to hire people and make sure they have job security and benefits they can rely on so that the people they are serving, like veterans, can count on the services being delivered to them. We want to make sure the government is open to amendments that all federal subjurisdictional workers have access to the 10 paid sick days. It is very important that we cover that.

The other thing I have not talked about is the fact that women are being disproportionally impacted. With a lot of the outsourcing and temp jobs in our country, women have been disproportionally impacted by COVID-19. Social services have failed people across Canada, and the lack of child care has had a huge impact. CBC reported that 100,000 working-age women have completely left the workplace since COVID-19, which is 10 times the number of men. We talk about having an employee work approximately a month to achieve one paid sick day, but this is disproportionally going to impact women if it takes 11 months to accumulate 10 days' sick leave.

I really hope the government will consider amending this situation, because we know that people who have been working at a job need that security. Also, we do not want them coming to work sick. We do not want them spreading the virus. We are in the fourth wave right now, and we do not know what the omicron virus, which is spreading quickly, is going to look like. We want to make sure we have workers protected throughout.

We also saw how fractured the health care system became throughout the pandemic. I could speak all day about the things we saw that were highlighted in the pandemic. However, when it comes to paid sick days, it is absolutely critical. This is a victory today for health care workers, workers across this country and professionals.

We are going to continue to ensure that workers across this country have support from us as parliamentarians, but I question why it took so long. Why did Liberals and Conservatives sit on their hands against medical health professionals' advice? Members have heard me talk a lot about the government failing to listen to medical health professionals, like in the opioid crisis. The medical health professionals have made very clear and sound recommendations. Even the government's own officials are asking it to decriminalize and provide a safe drug supply, but it has not done that.

The government does not listen to its health professionals when it comes to sick days or to the other crisis that is happening, which has taken more lives than we have seen in generations. However, I am hoping the government will act swiftly, start listening to its health professionals when it comes to developing policy, and act with much more urgency in the future.