Time has run out for paid-sick-leave legislation, Green MLA complains
CBC
The Higgs government is being accused of running out the clock on any discussion of adopting paid-sick-leave legislation for New Brunswick workers.
With the legislature set to adjourn June 7 for the last time before a fall provincial election, Labour Minister Greg Turner has not yet tabled a much-anticipated report on the idea.
The report has been ready for at least three months, and Green MLA Megan Mitton says the delay means it's no longer possible for a bill on paid sick leave to become law before the election.
"Disappointingly, no," she said.
"They've dropped the ball on this and made it clear they don't care to stand up for workers' rights and don't care to bring in paid sick days like we've been urging them to."
Turner struggled to explain to reporters on Friday why he hasn't been able to release his own department's report yet, attributing the delay to "the schedule" but reaffirming his vow to get it out before the legislative session ends.
"The planners schedule things, but I know it's on the agenda, let's say, for sure, for next week, and hopefully it's before the end of the week so we can scrutinize it," he said.
"That would be the hope."
Green Leader David Coon introduced legislation in December 2022 that would provide sick workers with up to 10 days of paid leave.
The bill also included a provision to help employers with the cost.
The province had a record number of flu hospitalizations at the time and was also grappling at the time with soaring rates of COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Coon argued the paid leave would make it easier for workers to stay home, decreasing their chances of infecting others.
His bill was sent to the legislature's law amendments committee, which decided not to advance it but to instead ask the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour to hold consultations and prepare a report.
The department's deputy minister Dan Mills told Mitton at a public accounts committee meeting on Feb. 22 that that work was finished.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A growing wildfire that started Monday on the Bonavista Peninsula has destroyed cabins, but the exact toll remains unknown.
Aidan Kazur is looking at his hometown of Kirkland Lake with different eyes this month.
Unhygienic conditions, bedrooms without locks and assaults against residents were among the problems plaguing two supportive housing sites in Halifax before the province cut ties with the non-profit managing the locations, a government official alleged Monday.
New Brunswick's biggest industrial carbon emitters pumped out lower amounts of greenhouse gases in 2023, but the reductions were not enough to keep pace with tightening emissions standards.
Quebec will say its final goodbye at a national funeral on Tuesday to honour late singer Serge Fiori, whose passing has deeply impacted many Quebecers.
Some Manitobans without health cards can now see doctors in hospitals, thanks to a change intended to ensure vulnerable patients receive better medical care.
Brooke Kindel's recurring nightmare of fleeing her home in Denare Beach, Sask., as a wildfire closes in doesn't disrupt her sleep as regularly as it used to.
In retrospect, Kenzie Sproat thinks there were warning signs that all was not right in her year-long relationship. She says her partner seemed to shift from a gentleman to someone who controlled and ridiculed her.
The Federal Court of Appeal will hear arguments from a B.C. ostrich farm Tuesday as it seeks to protect its herd from a cull ordered due to the avian flu, in a case that has sparked accusations of government overreach from critics in Canada and the U.S.
Mayor Andrea Horwath is appealing to the Ontario government for help in getting nearly 500 homes built in Hamilton despite CN Rail blocking the project for years.
Public Health officials in Chatham-Kent are warning people to avoid wild, aggressive or stray animals after a bat tested positive for rabies.
Camping in Jasper National Park may be a surreal experience for returning visitors and a startling one for first-time tourists, nearly one year after wildfire ripped through sections of the park.
A Bolton, Ont., father says he is angry and disappointed after his son was critically injured in a Brampton crash allegedly caused by a five-time repeat impaired driver, who has been released on bail.