The Ontario government鈥檚 proposal to reinstate the doctor鈥檚 note requirement for employees who call in sick poses a 鈥減ublic health risk,鈥� according to the Canadian Medical Association.
It says that the measure, included in legislation introduced last month to roll back the previous Liberal government鈥檚 employment law reforms, flies in the face of what doctors advise their patients to do when they are sick with the common cold or flu: stay at home and get plenty of rest.
鈥淲e are urging the Ontario government to reconsider this legislation,鈥� said Dr. Gigi Osler, the president of the Canadian Medical Association. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unnecessary, it adds to the public health risk and it goes against what we would recommend to patients who are sick.鈥�
She added that the requirement will 鈥渙nly add to the burden of an already burdened health-care system鈥� and puts others at risk of getting sick, in particular small children and the elderly.
Under Ontario鈥檚 current employment law, passed by the previous Liberal government, employees are granted up to 10 鈥減ersonal emergency leave鈥� days per year, two of them paid. Employers are banned from asking staff for medical notes.
But Premier Doug Ford鈥檚 proposed Making Ontario Open for Business Act, sweeping omnibus legislation that scraps many of the Liberal government鈥檚 labour reforms in an attempt to boost competitiveness, lifts that prohibition.
Howard Levitt, a senior partner at Levitt LLP, which specializes in employment and labour law, told 麻豆影视 it鈥檚 long overdue.
鈥淭here is a real abuse of sick leave in this province鈥� he said, adding that this accounts for billions of dollars in lost productivity for companies each year.
鈥淯nfortunately, especially around long weekends in the summer time, too many employees -- if they think they can get away with it -- will simply claim to be sick when they are not sick,鈥� Levitt said.
An conducted on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association found that 70 per cent of Ontarians are opposed to the change, with eight in 10 saying that the move makes it more likely that they will go work -- even if sick -- to avoid travelling to a doctor鈥檚 office to get a note.
鈥淵ou see an added risk of illnesses being spread to other people in their workplace,鈥� Dr. Osler said.
With a report by 麻豆影视 Medical Affairs Specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip
