Health-care workers need paid sick time
Alberta and Ontario continue to ignore expert advice that will reduce COVID spread
With no domestic production until next year, recent cuts in supply chains, and the risk of export controls by the EU, the vaccination program for Canadians has been poor.
We now rank 35th in the immunization rate per capita. Compounding the problem, we face the spread of mutants, with at least 279 cases of the U.K., 18 of the South African, and one (in Toronto) of the Brazilian variants in Canada. They are more contagious, possibly more lethal, and may be resistant to current vaccines.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 29 that flights to Mexico and the Caribbean would be cancelled until April 30. International passengers must now take a PCR test on arrival, and then wait in a hotel for three days for the result at a cost of $2,000.
Yet Doug Ford, Jason Kenney, and several other premiers still ignore the greater problem — over which they have some control — of workplace infections.
They should set up additional self-isolation centres, and immediately guarantee paid sick leave to workers especially in essential areas such as health care.
In Canada, as of late July, about 20 per cent of COVID-19 cases were in health workers — double the global average. At least 30 have died. By late January, about 15,000 in Ontario had been infected.
Some 58 per cent of Canadian workers lack adequate sick leave. In the GTA, 65 per cent of workers are deemed “essential.” In Toronto, 90 per cent of low-wage workers lack access to paid sick days. Not surprisingly, a Peel Public Health study found that between August 2020 and January 2021, 25 per cent of workers with potential COVID-19
symptoms and 80 who had tested positive went to work anyway.
In Ottawa, schools have reopened, but “All persons in the household of someone who has COVID-19 symptoms or is in selfisolation are asked to stay home, too.” Yet if they lack sufficient sick leave, will they all really comply?
The new Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit pays $450 per week after taxes for up to two weeks, even to self-employed workers.
Unlike for paid sick days, persons must apply for a payment, it reimburses less than the minimum wage, does not cover those who wish a shorter leave, and payment may take several weeks.
These amounts are still inadequate to replace the lost income of physicians, most nurses, and many other health professionals.
Infection rated are higher in medical doctors than in other health professionals. Yet most physicians are self-employed and rely on private insurance. Those older than age 65 generally cannot qualify. For most, there is a waiting period of at least two weeks. Most British Columbia MDs had been covered (up to age 70) by a government-funded disability plan. Those who were not, for months have been covered for quarantine or COVID-19 illness from day one. The Yukon and most provinces also cover their physicians from Day 1 of self-isolation, although Nova
Scotia cancelled this benefit in early December. Alberta and Ontario have left their physicians financially unprotected throughout the pandemic.
Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote in August, “Paid sick leave is extremely important. If someone has to choose between providing for their family or going to work when sick, they’ll likely go in and may infect others.”
Premier Ford refuses to commit to paid sick days, but recently stated, “We aren’t going to duplicate areas of support,” referring to the CRSB. However, even Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario associate chief medical officer of health, asserted, “That is a very important barrier that needs to be addressed. People need to be supported to do the right thing.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland argued last August, “We need people to stay home when they are unwell. Otherwise, we will have another huge outbreak.”
She should also agree to raise the Canada health transfer to the provinces. They in turn should agree to provide adequate pandemic sick benefits to all practicing physicians and for other health professionals, for they are a major potential cause of spread of the virus.
If all premiers act quickly to guarantee their financial protection and mandate adequate paid sick leave for other workers, this may help to reduce the likelihood of prolonged lockdowns with its dire effects on the lives, livelihoods, and mental health of most Canadians.
They should set up additional self-isolation centres, and immediately guarantee paid sick leave to workers especially in essential areas such as health care
CHRIS ERL
If you are unfamiliar with Reddit, the best way to quickly describe it is to paraphrase the opening line of Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”: it is the best of times, it is the worst of times.
Reddit serves as an online message board where people can share photos, ask for and provide advice and, as of late, share stock tips. The anonymity of the site can produce awful behaviour, but it can also bring out the best in people.
If you sift through all that digital clutter, you can find a space, or “subreddit,” for our incredible city. The message board called r/Hamilton has just under 40,000 members. This online community includes folks chatting about house prices, posting photos of the fall colours at the Devil’s Punchbowl, and sharing stories about our local history.
I am sure it also includes more than a few very confused fans of a certain popular musical.
On Jan. 30, the moderators of r/ Hamilton announced they had been contacted by Reddit’s legal department. Evidently, someone from city hall had noticed the message board’s icon was our city’s official logo; the six-pillared bridge, representing the six communities of Hamilton and visually similar to our city’s iconic High Level and Skyway Bridges. Rather than discuss this with the moderators, the city sent a trademark infringement complaint to Reddit.
Alone, this action may seem petty and pointless. The city’s logo cost $600,000 of taxpayer dollars and is meant to symbolize our city, not simply brand a corporation, but a simple message could have addressed the issue. Instead, the city brought the hammer down. This cannot be considered in isolation, as it is just one in a long line of attempts to chill citizen engagement and widen the gap between city officials and residents.
Take, for example, the recent proposals floated at city hall surrounding letters submitted by residents. Council is deliberating whether to empower the city clerk to hold back letters critical of any councillor. Rather than these letters being part of the public record, they would be privately redirected to the integrity commissioner. While some letters submitted to council may be lessthan-tactful,
corresponding publicly and freely with our elected officials is a cornerstone of our democracy.
Then there’s the matter of what the integrity commissioner has actually dealt with this year. During this term of council alone, numerous high-profile complaints have landed on the desk of that office. Councillors have threatened journalists and residents, sent offensive and incomprehensible emails in response to questions, and have weaponized the office, turning it backward onto residents who had the audacity to speak their mind. This is not limited to city council, as trustees of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board were also targeted in a similar fashion by one of their colleagues for taking a stand against racism and discrimination.
All of these actions, taken together and combined with the culture of secrecy and antipathy toward the public that emanates from local institutions, are concerning. This is particularly worrisome from the perspective of a researcher who studies democratic institutions.
How healthy is democracy in Hamilton? Though exact figures and historical data are hard to find thanks to an institutional disinterest in detailed record-keeping, we know that voter turnout and engagement is low. This is understandable,
as there are not many incentives to get involved in our local politics. Engaged citizens are berated by elected officials in meetings, on social media and over email when they participate. Actions as small as using the city’s logo or as visible as protesting for more affordable housing are met with swift and brutal backlash. Trustees operate in secrecy while councillors use language reminiscent of the conspiratorial and dangerous rhetoric advanced by those on the political fringe.
When we step back and consider the wider picture, it is evident that Hamilton’s local democracy is extremely unhealthy.
Municipal politicians view the public with fear and resentment while residents struggle to have their voices heard and participate in their democracy without harm or hindrance. All this points to a need for a culture shift in Hamilton’s local politics. It is time to find common ground, drop the attitude of hostility, and welcome folks back into the conversation. At the very least, the city can start by giving r/Hamilton back the logo — a symbol of bridging divides — with an apology. Chris Erl is a PhD candidate in Urban Political Geography and a born-andraised Hamiltonian. He can be found on Twitter @ChrisErl and is active in the r/Hamilton subreddit.