Advertisement 1

B.C. business groups back Horgan's call for federal sick-pay program

B.C. business leaders have united behind Premier Horgan's call for national sick-pay program to help combat COVID-19.

Article content

VICTORIA — B.C.’s major business leaders have united behind Premier John Horgan’s call for a national sick-pay program to help combat COVID-19.

Ten business groups from B.C., as well as 11 associations from Alberta to Atlantic Canada, co-authored the request to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a letter sent Wednesday.

“In these circumstances, we believe senior governments should shoulder any costs associated with time away from work (i.e. sick pay) associated with the current pandemic,” read the letter. “At a time when many businesses have been hit extremely hard by the economic fallout from the pandemic, it is simply not reasonable for businesses to be expected to cover sick-pay costs for COVID-19 which, at its core, is a global pandemic, and a national and provincial public health emergency.”

The letter signatories made up the bulk of B.C.’s business sector, including the B.C. Business Council, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Surrey Board of Trade, B.C. Chamber of Commerce, B.C. Agriculture Council, Urban Development Institute, B.C. Trucking Association, B.C. Council of Forest Industries and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association.

Article content

Horgan said he used the letter to boost his proposal to Trudeau and other premiers on a conference call Thursday.

“I’m grateful for the leadership that the local businesses have shown,” Horgan said. “An economic imperative is what gets people out of their sick beds and to work, and we need to make sure people stay in their sick beds until they are well.”

While some employees get paid sick days due to collective agreements or employer contracts, others, particularly in low-paying jobs, often must choose between working sick to get paid or staying home and earning nothing.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

Public health officials have urged anyone who feels ill to stay home from work, to try to curb the spread of COVID-19. Horgan pointed to Superior Poultry Processors in Coquitlam where fear of not getting paid while sick contributed to a coronavirus outbreak that grew to more than 50 cases.

The premier reiterated Thursday that it’s unfair to force all businesses to suddenly pay for sick days when many are suffering severe financial hardships already caused by the pandemic. Ottawa must step in to fund the initiative as a public safety measure through its EI program, he said.

“It’s a ready-made fund and the dialogue could be quick, and get a program up-and-running quickly,” said Horgan. “At a minimum it should be a temporary program until we find a vaccine.”

It’s unclear what such a program would cost, though it’s expected to be expensive. Horgan said the premiers and Ottawa are concerned about the high rate of money being spent during this crisis, but he’s willing to explore provincial cost-sharing on a federal sick-pay program.

Improved testing times in B.C. mean someone sick could tell within three-to-four days if they have COVID-19 and potentially return to work, instead of requiring a full two-week paid self-isolation, said Horgan.

Article content
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

The federal EI program currently pays for some sick leave, but only under certain criteria involving hours worked, days lost and eligible doctor notes.

Val Litwin, CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, said provincial and federal assistance programs for businesses during COVID-19 could be swamped by continuing costs related to employee sick days.

“This could have massive cost implications for businesses and it could undo in one go all the benefits that have been rolled out to date,” he said. “Entrepreneurs are feeling very vulnerable right now, they are frantically calculating the new fixed cost for their models, because they are looking at health, reconfiguring their workplaces, the purchase of PPE, the list goes on-and-on. So to add now having to cover sick pay during what is a public health crisis, would essentially instantly bankrupt thousands-of-thousands of businesses.”

The business community respects that Horgan has championed the issue, he added.

“We thank the premier for his leadership,” said Litwin. “He’s been a great person for the other leaders to rally around in terms of saying to the feds that you can’t put this on the backs of businesses, you can’t ask businesses to underwrite a public health crisis.”

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

The letter to Trudeau was also signed by representatives from the retail, manufacturing, restaurant and franchise sectors, as well as by Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and Atlantic chambers of commerce.

A federal sick-pay program would make sense to harmonize all the provinces and territories, said Rocco Rossi, CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, which also signed the letter. A cross-Canada pitch should carry weight in the PM’s office, he said.

“When a collection of voices like this comes together I certainly hope and believe it will be taken seriously,” said Rossi.

Several business sectors, such as restaurants and hotels, have projected a high risk of bankruptcy by owners restarting operations due to accumulated debt from being closed owing to COVID-19, as well as the cost of extra sanitization and protection gear and social-distancing measures that will reduce their customers by as much as half.

rshaw@postmedia.com

twitter.com/robshaw_vansun

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers