The Canada Labour Code coverage is broad across the country. Not every employer has the same experience or will have the same understanding as to the intent of the law. I think the government will have to provide some very cohesive guidelines that would ensure that we have continuity of application across the country. Whether you live in B.C. or in Ontario, you could have the same employer, yet the interpretation may not have been communicated to you internally.
Quite often workers are dealing with their front-line supervisors and may have to engage with them in regard to their needs. I think it's critical in some industrial workplaces that there is also sensitivity to the fact that you're talking to somebody about an issue that you may not want to share with them.
Clearly this is something that we're going to have to work on. I'm not suggesting that employers are not co-operative or supportive, but I think we're going to have to work in a very intensive way to ensure that the intent and the application actually cover the same ground. More importantly, we must ensure that people don't have to be put in situations that are not tolerable or expected, in instances where they need both support and time off as quickly as possible.