Ontario unveils temporary paid sick day program set to run until September
Ontario has unveiled a temporary three-day paid sick leave program in effect until Sept. 25.
According to the proposed Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Benefit, the program applies to employees who meet one or more of the following criteria: need to take a COVID-19 test and await results; have been advised to self-isolate due to COVID-19 by an employer, medical practitioner or other authority; are sick or experiencing adverse side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine; are going to get vaccinated; and are caring for a dependent who is sick or self-isolating due to COVID-19.
Employees would receive up to $200 a day for a max of three days. The program itself, if passed, will be retroactive to April 19, however, the full scope of the program is currently unknown.
According to CP24, the proposal “comes after the Ford government faced mounting pressure from medical experts … who for months called for a provincial paid sick days program above and beyond the CRSB.”
The CRSB, or Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, has been described by Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table as “cumbersome and does not provide enough financial support.” Many Ontarians are still going to work despite being sick, which is also the case locally.
“We’ve heard from workers in our community that too often they’re faced with the impossible choice between losing the pay they rely on or risking their health and the health of the public,” Dominica McPherson, coordinator of the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination told Guelph Today.
While many are enthusiastic about the prospect of paid sick leave, the temporary nature of the program and the amount of coverage has McPherson and other governmental leaders voicing concern.
“We know the solution is legislated, permanent, universal, accessible and adequate paid sick days and the announcement today … is not adequate for an ongoing pandemic and a virus that requires people to isolate for 14 days,” McPherson said.
According to CBC, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said that, “Three days of paid sick leave will not cut it … I don’t know where the premier thinks this is the best program in North America. It certainly is not.”
Horwath’s comment comes in response to Premier Ford describing the program in a conference last week as “the best program anywhere in North America, bar none.”
As the program currently stands, employers would have to foot the bill directly, then be reimbursed by the province at a later date. It is not known how long the reimbursement process would take, or when the legislation itself will pass.
The Government of Ontario encourages those looking for more information to call the Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Benefit Information Centre at 1-888-999-2248 (TTY: 1-866-567-8893).
Please visit www.theontarion.com/submit to find out how you can share your work with The Ontarion.