It would be worthwhile for the Parliamentary Budget Officer to testify before the committee and help us break down the numbers.
In his study, the Parliamentary Budget Officer based his calculations on a maximum of 52 weeks for all people who needed help. However, those who need sick leave benefits for more than 15 weeks need an average of 41 weeks. That means it would cost less.
Essentially, for a Canadian, it’s the equivalent of one coffee a month, about $2.30. For an employer, that means about $3.30 a month. It’s impossible to find anything similar with private insurance. In fact, without a doubt, it would cost between 10 and 20 times more to obtain an equivalent amount.
We must consider the fact that nearly 20 million Canadians pay a very affordable rate for major group insurance.