In general, paid sick leave means a number of days per year when employees get wages while they recover from a short-term illness or care for a sick loved one. In most Canadian labour jurisdictions, employees don’t have this. Quebec and PEI are the only places where sick days are permanently guaranteed in law; British Columbia is introducing a temporary backstop until the end of 2021, to be replaced by an as-yet-determined permanent system; and Ontario has introduced paid sick days temporarily until this fall.
Every province and territory has at least some minimum amount of unpaid sick leave, ranging from three days to two weeks per year. This allows workers to take time off without risk of losing their jobs, but they’d still lose income.
A sickness benefit may compensate workers who have lost income, but only after the fact and not nearly as much as their regular wages, so it’s not really paid leave. The federal Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit gives out $500 over a one-week period to employees who’ve lost at least half of their scheduled work week due to illness or self-isolation, but that money is taxed, and the program is due to wrap up on Sept. 25. The Yukon has a Paid Sick Leave Rebate that covers up to 10 days of wages, but it too expires in September.
Read our full explainer to learn more.