Nova Scotia extends paid leave for domestic violence victims

Nova Scotia is extending the amount of time a person can take off work, with pay, if they're experiencing domestic violence.

The Tory government is changing the Labour Standards Code so that employers will have to provide five paid days of leave, up from three. The change takes effect April 1.

The code defines domestic violence as an act of abuse that can be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological. It can include coercion, stalking, harassment or financial control, or it can be a threat of such abuse.

The perpetrator could be a current or former intimate partner, a relative or someone who lives with them.

Kristina Fifield, a registered social worker and trauma therapist who specializes in intimate partner violence, says the extra days are a step in the right direction, but she'd like to see more.

"I think we need to look at reimagining how survivors are supported in workplaces across our province," she said in an interview.

"Paid domestic violence leave and intimate partner violence leave is one part of it, but I think that employers in our province can do a lot more in supporting survivors and victims that are going through this."

Fifield said she'd like to see 10 or more paid days, as well as accommodations such as allowing people to work from home or another location. She said employers need to acknowledge that people might not "be at their best at work" while they deal with the trauma of abuse.

She said it's up to the government to enshrine more support in government regulation and policy, and up to employers to work on improving workplace cultures.

Labour Minister Nolan Young refused to do an interview at Province House. 

A news release from his department said the decision was made after consultation with unions, advocacy groups and other community partners. 

It said the change aligns with an NDP bill that passed with all-party support last year declaring domestic violence an epidemic, as well as recommendations from the Mass Casualty Commission, the Lionel Desmond fatality inquiry and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Fifield was at Province House on Wednesday prior to the announcement about paid leave because she was participating in a rally against gender-based violence. About 50 people gathered at Halifax Regional Police headquarters and marched to Province House.

Organizers said they want "an urgent, epidemic-level response" to gender-based violence, a long-standing issue that has seen a recent spike.