This is a petition entitled “Paid Sick Days for All Ontarians.
“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
“Whereas paid sick days save lives;
“Whereas all Ontarians should have the right to recover from illness or attend to personal emergencies without the loss of income;
“Whereas the Employment Standards Act does not provide access to permanent paid sick days for the approximate 60% of Ontario workers without them;
“Whereas the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown that paid sick days are vital to stopping the spread of contagious illnesses and avoiding economically disruptive lockdowns or business closures;
“Whereas multiple studies have shown the cost benefit for employers to provide an adequate paid sick day program for their employees;
“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to provide all Ontario workers 10 permanent paid sick days, with an additional 14 during an infectious disease emergency.”
I wholeheartedly support this petition. I’ll affix my signature and will hand it over to Natalie.