Calls grow for permanent paid sick leave as N.S. tells people to ‘get back out there’

Nova Scotia's temporary paid sick leave program expired last month and advocates are calling for legislation for permanent paid sick days as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Nova Scotia’s temporary paid sick leave program may be over, but the COVID-19 pandemic is not – and advocates are calling for permanent paid sick leave legislation as COVID cases continue to grow.

The program, which was launched last spring and covered up to four sick days for employees who needed to take time off due to COVID-19, ended at the end of last month.

It was intended to complement the federal government’s Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, which is set to expire in May.

COVID-19 cases have been skyrocketing since the province lifted most public health measures – such as mandatory masking and capacity limits – last month, not long before the paid sick leave program ended.

Chris Parsons, the provincial coordinator for the Nova Scotia Health Coalition, said the temporary program was “inadequate” to begin with, but “better than nothing.”

“Allowing the paid sick day program to expire at the same time as we got rid of all other health protections strikes me as, at best, an oversight that puts people’s lives in danger,” he said.

“It doesn’t make sense to me at all.”

Premier Tim Houston said on Friday that his government was willing to revisit the program, but made no immediate commitments.