![Finance minister promises review of sick notes, but says getting rid of them isn't the answer](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7096532.1706305944!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/strep-children-bc-20231222.jpg)
Finance minister promises review of sick notes, but says getting rid of them isn't the answer
CBC
P.E.I.'s finance minister says she supports looking into whether the province should change its requirement that government employees provide sick notes when off work ill, and is open to reviewing the law allowing other employers to do the same.
But Finance Minister Jill Burridge said on Tuesday she doesn't believe getting rid of the notes entirely is the way to go.
It follows questions from Green MLA Matt MacFarlane on Tuesday, the second straight day he raised the issue in the legislature. This time, he spoke about a constituent who needed a doctor's note, and visited several clinics with her sick child to get one.
According to MacFarlane, the constituent in question works for the province's biggest employer: the P.E.I. government itself.
"Last year she got the flu and took a few days off then," he said. "As so often happens, her young child caught the same flu; after the five-day mark, the payroll department demanded a sick note."
MacFarlane went on to say the mother saw "no option" but to spend three days taking her sick child to five walk-in clinics hoping to "find a piece of paper."
"Do you support the removing of the need for sick notes from our Employment Standards Act?" he asked the minister.
Burridge, who is also minister responsible for the Public Service Commission, said she's "certainly" going to look into it.
"As a mom, I can appreciate that circumstance," Burridge replied, "and I certainly wouldn't want to see anyone have to go through that.
"I've committed to look into this, absolutely."
But after Tuesday's Question Period, Burridge said stopping employers from requiring sick notes isn't the solution. Instead, she suggested such medical certificates can enable employers to confirm workers are actually sick.
She said the province could strike a better "balance" between allowing for that, versus the demands it places on the health care system.
"I don't think it would be the best idea to just wipe them," she said. "There are, in certain circumstances, requirements for that.
"To wipe out sick notes, I don't think would be responsible."