Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague's party for this motion. It is a good initiative to discuss. It involves thousands of people, and very vulnerable people, working hard to help do those jobs that many others cannot do. They are for short periods of time and are very labour-intensive jobs.
When it comes to time off during sickness, I have a close friend who recently went for routine back surgery and was nearly paralyzed due to it. His wife is having to take time off. Her whole world changed. This was supposed to routine surgery, with him being out in a couple of days. Now she does not know when he will walk again or if he will ever walk again. She will need a significant amount of time off.
The Prime Minister has recognized that with a mandate for leave up to 26 weeks, which is six months. As we have seen through trends in the past, two-thirds of Canadians that use this applicable sickness leave will use it within the 15 weeks. However, 36% still do not.
Obviously this will not cover everyone, but it will give them time to readjust. It help those with a long-term sickness or those have loved ones with a long-term sickness.
This is a great start. The dialogue should continue, as we have data coming back, to see if this is an adequate measure.