Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the members of the committee.
I want to acknowledge that I am joining you from the island of Newfoundland, which is the traditional territory of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq peoples.
I want to thank you for inviting me to discuss this bill, and for your patience through all the technical difficulties that we've had.
It is a sad reality that across Canada some workers do not have access to paid sick leave. In fact, 58% of workers in Canada do not have any paid sick leave at all. This means that many workers cannot afford to stay home due to an illness. This is a significant issue.
For some people, missing paid days due to illness means not being able to make your mortgage or rent payments, or deal with the many other bills that you need to pay to support your family. It is simply an unfair choice to impose on Canadian workers.
Despite the progress that the Government of Canada has made on the labour front, it is clear that the pandemic has exposed the gaps in our social safety systems. The time has come to close the gap on paid sick leave.
Currently, the Canada Labour Code provides employees in federally regulated industries with several unpaid leaves related to personal illness or injury, as well as three days of paid personal leave that could be used to treat an illness or injury. However, if we look at the statistics from 2019, we find that Canadian workers took an average of eight and a half days of leave for illness and issues related to a disability. It has become very clear that three days is not enough.
This legislation would amend the Canada Labour Code to provide 10 days of paid sick leave per year to workers in the federally regulated private sector. This is a change that will make a real difference in the lives of working Canadians. As of today, there are approximately 18,500 employers in federally regulated industries. Together, this represents over 950,000 workers.
The federally regulated sector is comprised of workplaces from a broad range of industries—it includes interprovincial air, rail, road and marine transportation, pipelines, banks, postal and courier services, among others. These are all industries people count on every day.
It's incumbent on us as the federal government to support these workers. The bill before us today not only allows workers in these vital industries to stay home to rest when they are sick, but also prevents the spread of illness in the workplace. Specifically, it would amend part III of the Canada Labour Code.
The first change is to provide that, for each calendar year, employees would accumulate one day of paid leave per completed month of employment, up to a maximum entitlement of 10 days per calendar year.
The second change is to avoid duplicating paid leave provisions related to illness or injury under the Canada Labour Code.
These two changes would impact 600,000 employees—582,700, to be exact—in the federally regulated private sector who don't currently have access to at least 10 days of paid sick leave.
Increased paid sick leave would support employees by protecting them in three ways.
First, paid sick leave would protect workers' incomes. Workers won't have to choose between staying home to get well and getting paid.
Second, it would protect their jobs.
And finally, it would protect workers' health. Additional sick days would allow them to recover at home, which would protect others in the workplace.
In addition, the government would like to see paid sick leave implemented across the country, in all sectors. To do that, we will discuss a plan to legislate sick leave across the country with provinces and territories, respecting their jurisdictions and keeping the unique needs of small business owners top of mind.
Currently, not every province and territory has paid sick leave provisions, and that shouldn't be the case. We have a responsibility to make sure all Canadians have access to paid sick leave. This is essential to Canada's economic recovery. It will protect workers' health now and into the future.
It's time to close the gap that the pandemic exposed in our social safety net.
Mr. Chair and members, as we finish the fight against COVID-19, a vital step towards Canada's economic recovery is to make sure that Canadians have access to paid sick leave.
I want to quote from economist Jim Stanford. In The Globe and Mail, he said:
It would be reckless and short-sighted to return to a preCOVID “normal” that compelled sick workers to show up, regardless of the risk to others.
With this bill, the government is taking action to give workers the support that they need to help keep themselves healthy and keep their workplaces safe. Hard-working Canadians across the country are counting on us to make these necessary and important changes.
Thank you for your time.