More job protection needed for workers with serious illnesses, groups say | CBC News

Advocates are urging the P.E.I. government to do more to protect the jobs of people who suffer from serious illnesses and need extended periods of time off.

As of Oct. 1, employees on the Island will have the legal right to up to three days of paid sick leave a year, depending on the length of time they’ve been working for the same employer.

Some groups that advocate for people with serious or chronic illnesses say the new legislation is a good start — but say government could easily go further. 

The Canadian Cancer Society has been pushing for provinces to introduce 26 to 27 weeks of unpaid time off with job protection for people with serious illnesses. That would match the time frame of a federal employment insurance sickness benefit that provides financial assistance to those who can’t work for medical reasons.   

“We do need to see unpaid job protection made real in Prince Edward Island,” said Heather Mulligan, manager of advocacy for the society in the Atlantic region.

“As we wait, more Islanders find themselves in precarious positions where they have to choose between going back to work early because they might lose their job but not being ready to go back, or losing their employment altogether.” 

The introduction of three paid sick days on P.E.I. comes as a result of an Opposition bill, put forward by the Liberal Party in 2023, to amend the Employment Standards Act.

The act gives workers one day of paid sick leave a year after 12 months of employment at the same workplace, two paid days after 24 months, and three paid days after 36 months.

There are already far too many worries … financially, physically and psychologically, with a cancer diagnosis.— Heather Mulligan, Canadian Cancer Society

While many employers already offer paid sick days as part of employee compensation packages, there is no enshrined legislation to protect the jobs of workers whose employers don’t offer short- or long-term disability for extended leaves.

Mulligan said a quarter of Canadian employees have no access to such coverage. She said that’s a “gap that needs to be filled” by all provincial governments in Canada. 

“There are already far too many worries … financially, physically and psychologically, with a cancer diagnosis,” she said. “Whether you have a job to return to shouldn’t be one of those worries.” 

‘A concrete thing that we can achieve’

Nova Scotians who have serious illnesses won’t have that worry as of Jan. 1, 2025. 

The provincial government there recently tabled an amendment to the Labour Standards Code that will allow for up to 27 weeks of unpaid leave for serious illnesses. 

People can still access the EI sickness benefit while not working, and their jobs are now legally protected during that time.

It will be an important failsafe for employees who have conditions like multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. People with MS can relapse at any time, and the recovery period is unique to each individual patient — so they can’t predict when they’ll need time off work, or for how long.

The MS Society of Canada is also pushing for governments like P.E.I.’s to enact a 26-week job protection to match the EI benefit.

“There is still a lot of fear and a lot of uncertainty in the MS community about sharing that [diagnosis] with their employers and how their employers are going to take it,” said Daniel Corvino, the society’s manager of government relations and advocacy.

“That’s why we want to see those two match up, so people feel secure in accessing that EI sickness benefit and talking to their employers about it and being able to advocate for accommodations that they might need to stay connected to their jobs.”   

A spokesperson for Crohn’s and Colitis Canada said in a statement to CBC News that the organization has supported similar job-protection legislation in Ontario, and that P.E.I.’s three days of paid leave amount to “far less than some other provinces.”

How P.E.I.’s new paid sick-leave legislation will work

Starting on Oct. 1, workers on P.E.I. who haven’t had coverage so far may be eligible for up to three paid sick days a year — depending on how much they’ve worked. CBC’s Cody MacKay takes a look at the new paid sick-leave legislation and explains how it might affect you.

The Canadian Cancer Society and the MS Society both want to see the P.E.I. government make changes to allow for longer-term job protection as early as this fall’s sitting of the legislative assembly.

“I think we have a really unique opportunity in front of us to help people in a really clear and succinct manner in the short term,” Corvino said. 

“This is a concrete thing that we can achieve — tomorrow, really — that will have a direct impact on people’s lives.”

P.E.I.’s Department of Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population said in a statement to CBC News Wednesday that it is looking into whether it can provide job protection similar to that offered in Nova Scotia’s legislation.

“The province is currently working on bringing forward the recommendations from the Employment Standards Act Comprehensive Review Final Report,” the statement reads.

“The Comprehensive Review Panel recommended language that provides up to twenty-six (26) weeks unpaid leave for the treatment and recovery from serious or life-threatening diseases and illnesses.”