Local labour leaders voice support for paid sick leave
With the current stay-at-home order set to end next month, the wait for the provincial government to deliver on paid sick leave continues.
As another private member's bill to create such a program was defeated at Queen's Park Monday, local labour and commerce advocates are voicing their support.
Anthony Marco, president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council, said having allies in four Hamilton-area NDP MPPs has helped local advocacy efforts, with mixed results at the federal level in years past.
It takes a massive grassroots belief and a public push to sway a government like this, and so far over the past few weeks, it's been done," Marco said. If we can make sure that this stays on the radar for the next few weeks and keeps the pressure up, hopefully we can find out what kind of commitment this government's willing to make."
So far, according to Liberal MPP Michael Coteau (Don Valley East) at Queen's Park, Doug Ford's cabinet has thwarted 21 attempts to introduce paid sick days for essential employees in previous motions and bills.
According to the Toronto Star, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was pitched by Queen's Park to top up the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) with provincial funds to provide sick workers up to $1,000 a week. A letter sent by provincial Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, obtained by the Globe and Mail and the Star, requested that the federal government deliver the program.
Keanin Loomis, president and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, said its position on sick pay is aligned with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), which is leading advocacy efforts on behalf of local partners.
In an April 22 statement, the OCC said paid leave is the right thing to do both morally and economically," repeating previous calls for a provincially funded paid sick leave program.
Our position is that business, particularly small businesses, simply cannot afford the additional financial responsibility to fund sick leave at this time, which is why we support the notion of a temporary paid sick program that is paid for by the government for the duration of the pandemic," OCC president Rocco Rossi said in a statement.
Vjosa Isai is a reporter at The Spectator covering Hamilton-based business. Reach her via email: visai@thespec.com.