“This is a good first step by the government on this front; one that workers and their unions, as well as the medical community, have been requesting for some time,” said NLFL President Jessica McCormick. “This change will reduce stress on our healthcare system, free up healthcare workers to focus on providing care, improve access to healthcare, and allow workers to concentrate on getting healthy before returning to work.”

“However, the full impact of this change will depend on individual employers, who will still have the ability to set their own sick note policies, even for short-term illnesses,” said McCormick. “Employers should absolutely follow the precedent set by this change – for our healthcare system and for workers – but they are not required to do so.”

A recently released report by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) estimated that as many as 12.5 million unnecessary healthcare appointments could be eliminated annually by removing the requirement for sick notes for minor, short-term illnesses.

“Workers and their families need this government to implement further labour legislation changes to improve their working and living conditions,” said McCormick. “We are hopeful that this change signals that this government is listening to workers and is ready to prioritize their needs. We will continue to pressure the government to ensure this happens.”

Recently, the NLFL called on the provincial government to increase the Income Replacement Rate for injured workers. Additionally, the NLFL is urging the government to introduce legislation during this session to ensure workers have access to ten (10) paid sick days.

“Sick notes are just one part of the overall picture,” said McCormick. “Workers should not feel pressured to come to work while sick for fear of losing their jobs. If the goal is to reduce the financial strain on workers and mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, as the Minister states in her release, then we also need to enact increased access to paid sick days and better compensation for injured workers.”

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McCormick, who is joining labour federation presidents from across Canada at this week’s Council of the Federation Meetings July 11–12, said families continue to struggle through the health crisis while their budgets are stretched to the breaking point. And they need to see a secure, viable future as Canada shifts to a greener, sustainable economy.

“Working people have shouldered huge burdens to get Canada through the challenges of the past three years. They need to see our premiers setting aside their differences with each other, and putting workers and families at the centre of their discussions this week,” she said, calling for action on:

Health care: “Across the country, patients are enduring long waits for treatment and hospitals are struggling to keep emergency rooms open. And with yet another summer of extreme staff shortages underway, health care workers have to put in unsustainable hours under unacceptable working conditions.

“It’s time for the premiers to listen to frontline workers, and work with health care unions to improve working conditions, recruit and retain workers, and ensure our cherished public health services are viable for the long term.”

Spiralling costs: “Rising interest rates are squeezing working families, prices for everything from housing to groceries continue to rise, and corporations and big banks continue to pull in record profits.

“We need urgent action from all levels of government to end this relentless economic attack on working people, and to take immediate steps to make it easier for families to make ends meet.”

Climate change: “Working people are on the front lines of the climate crisis: fighting wildfires and floods, and coping with the fallout from climate extremes. This summer’s unprecedented wildfire epidemic shows how desperate the need for urgent climate action truly is.

“Now is the time to make sure workers aren’t left behind as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy. My fellow presidents and I are calling on the premiers to work in close collaboration with labour unions, so we can develop a future-proof industrial strategy that puts workers and their communities first in every province, territory and region of our country.”

McCormick will be available throughout the Council of the Federation meetings for media comment.

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