Ontario’s COVID-19 paid sick days program could expire end of March

With the Ontario budget set to be unveiled later this week, it appears the days could be numbered for the province’s COVID-19 paid sick program.

The program, which allows Ontarians who miss work due to COVID-19 to have up to three days off, is set to expire on March 31, 2023. Under the current guidelines, eligible workers are offered up to $200 a day for up to three days if they need to get tested, vaccinated, receive booster shots, self-isolate, or care for a family member who is ill from COVID.

When asked about the future of the program during a press conference, Premier Doug Ford was non-committal on the program’s future.

“That was specifically designed for the pandemic to help people out, that’s the reason,” answered Ford. “We have one of the highest vaccination rates in the entire world because we put these programs in and we’ll just have to see over the next few days.”

The Ford government originally announced the program back in April of 2021. The province partnered with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to deliver the program and reimburse its staff.

The program was launched during a time when the provincial government was under intense pressure to help workers who were forced to chose between staying home and not getting paid versus going to work while feeling ill.

“I think it’s a huge mistake not to renew that,” said Mike Schreiner, Ontario’s Green Party leader. “We know it’s better for workers to stay home when they’re sick and it is very difficult for many workers to do that when they’re in the impossible situation of saying hey do I pay the rent, pay the bills, meet my family obligations or do I go to work sick. We need permanent paid sick days in Ontario.”

“People shouldn’t go to work when they’re sick, COVID or not, it actually decreases our productivity, it’s not healthy for people to do that,” said interim Ontario Liberal leader, John Fraser.

“I think that the government should continue with that program, I think they should make it permanent, I think they should make it more, but at the very least continue what they have because it supports people to not go to work when they’re sick or make themselves sicker by going to work.”

It’s not clear if the fate of the program will be directly addressed when the Ontario budget is tabled on March 23.