Sick leave important for all
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We want to encourage people not to work when they are ill and we want to make sure they are not hurt financially in these difficult times as a consequence of making the smart and caring decision.” – Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister
He is holding Justin Trudeau to his promise of paid sick leave during the pandemic. However, this should apply to all Canadians, including selfemployed doctors and part-time health professionals.
By late July, 20 per cent of COVID-19 cases were in health workers – twice the global average. Physicians were urged to practice “virtual care” whenever possible. Adequate personal protective equipment was often not available at nursing homes. Of great importance is that most were unprotected financially if they were forced to self-isolate or contracted COVID-19.
A “second wave” of the pandemic seems inevitable. Yet three provinces –Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario – ignore the need for physicians to be financially protected if they themselves are forced to self-isolate or contract the coronavirus.
Unlike salaried nurses and RTS, most physicians are self-employed and rely on private insurance. Most provinces recognized that not only are older physicians at greater risk of developing severe or fatal disease, but those older than age 65 generally could not qualify for private insurance. (In Ontario, 28 per cent of physicians are over age 60.) For even younger ones, there is usually a waiting period of days or weeks.
The Throne Speech announced a new Canada Recovery Benefit which pays up to $500 per week for 26 weeks
– even to self-employed persons. The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit pays $500 per week up to two weeks for those forced to self-isolate. Both are inadequate amounts, and hardly meet the needs of MDS and even many nurses in provinces such as Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba.
Most British Columbia physicians under age 70 were already covered by a government-funded disability plan; this paid from day one of a quarantine period. Last spring, a special Quarantine Replacement Benefit was set up to protect those doctors not in the government plan.
Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon all cover their MDS for lost income from day one of self-isolation or illness. Only Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba have left their physicians totally unprotected.
The Decent Work and Health Report of Aug. 19, 2020 stated that universal, paid sick days were a “necessary, evidence-bases protection” to mitigate the second wave of COVID-19. In a March 20, 2020 policy statement, the OECD had agreed. It also supported “Extending paid leave coverage to non-standard workers, including the self-employed.” This would include physicians. After the Throne Speech on Sept. 23, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh stated that his support for the Liberal government’s Bill C-2 depended on increasing the CERB and putting in “sick leave for all Canadians.” If this is to be effective and deter MDS and certain well-paid health professionals from working, the benefit must be sufficient to cover most of their lost income.
On Sept. 18, the premiers of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec met and strongly urged Ottawa to increase funding. As Premier Francois Legault asserted, “First and most important by contributing its fair share of health spending in the country, we ask the federal government to increase its share from 22 per cent to 35 per cent. At present, the provinces have been spending $188 billion on health per year; Ottawa provides only $42 billion.
When he was Finance Minister, Bill Morneau promised, “We will not put a cap on what we might need to solve the problem.” Chrystia Freeland should agree to increase the Canada Health Transfer to the provinces and territories from $42 billion to $70 billion. They in turn should agree to use some of this additional money to provide pandemic sick benefits for all practicing physicians as well as, if necessary, topping up federal benefits for part-time nurses and other health workers so as to adequately replace their lost income. This will encourage them to self-isolate, if necessary, and help to control the pandemic.
Justin Trudeau has agreed to a first ministers’ meeting this fall to discuss health. On the agenda should be financial protection of doctors and all health professionals. Surely all deserve sufficient income-replacement benefits when off work due to the coronavirus. They should not be deprived of these because they are self-employed, work part-time or because of their age, preexisting illnesses, or just because they happen to live in a certain province or territory.