paid sick leave

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says he plans to put paid sick leave on the agenda for a meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts to resolve a patchwork system of policies and workplace culture that may dissuade workers from staying home when ill.

Now he's heading into the first full year of his third mandate faced with what public health experts fear will be the worst wave yet of the pandemic, fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The Senate gave quick approval on Thursday, December 16, 2021, to a new round of pandemic aid after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made a pre-Christmas plea to rubber-stamp the help and promised that benefits would flow quickly to businesses and workers in need.

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan says the government is open to amending legislation that would provide 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated workers.

The federal Liberals have introduced a two-for-one piece of legislation that would provide sick leave to some workers, and bring the law down on anyone harassing health-care employees.

The throne speech is expected to be short and contain no surprises, recapping themes laid out in the Liberal platform during the recent federal election campaign, which produced a second, consecutive Liberal minority.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, a formal pact to prop up the minority Liberal government — including a coalition — is not on the table.

The three main federal party leaders marked Labour Day with promises of better working conditions and more benefits for Canadian workers, along with additional supports for businesses.

The call for more paid sick leave becomes especially urgent as schools prepare to reopen and governments and health authorities urge parents to keep children home if they have COVID-19 symptoms.

The federal government is offering a "temporary income support program" that will provide workers without access to paid sick leave 10 days if it is related to COVID-19, Trudeau's office announced.