Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Should the government eliminate those banked sick days, this would equate to the savings.

Finance committee  It is complex. It is about accrual accounting and contingent liability. The $900 million booked in the budget is a subset of the contingent liability associated with banked sick days that have accumulated over decades under the existing regime. The current total number, I'm tol

Finance committee  Right now, if an employee without a sufficient amount of sick leave for a longer-term illness found themselves ill, they would be out of income. They would be on leave without pay. They would look to apply for EI sickness benefits, which have a lengthy waiting period. If they get

Finance committee  Absolutely. In fact, last week we talked to a number of organizations who are at the bargaining table, and we heard about the unique needs of CBSA and correctional services. This is the kind of discussion we are having at the bargaining agent table. Carl leads the negotiations. W

Finance committee  Well, the accumulated sick leave bank regime started in 1923. All of these systems are about 60 to 70 years old, in contrast to provinces which have had short-term disability plans for about 40 years. We're about 40 to 60 years out of date.

Finance committee  There is a cost in the budget, but that's a cost of contingent sick leave liability, an estimate that is a subset in the budget of a larger number. We are not giving costs of a new system yet, because we need to go to procurement. We have not gone to procurement, because we're

Finance committee  Have we done this before?

Finance committee  I'll turn to our legal counsel.

Finance committee  Thank you and good morning, Mr. Chair and committee. As stated in budget 2015, the government will make every effort to reach agreement with bargaining agents within a reasonable timeframe on necessary reforms to disability and sick leave management. A new round of collective

Finance committee  Okay, I'm wrapping up. The government, on the recommendation of the President of the Treasury Board, specified a date by which Treasury Board can establish the short-term plan. If this occurs, the proposed legislation will allow Treasury Board to modify the short-term disability