Province also creating job-protected leave for workers with serious illnesses
Ontario will soon introduce legislation that, if passed, will support families and help more women enter and remain in the skilled trades.
The province’s upcoming legislation will propose a new 16-week job-protected leave under the Employment Standards Act for adoptive parents and parents through surrogacy. This would also align with upcoming federal changes to create employment insurance (EI) benefits for adoption, said the provincial government.
The government also intends to propose a new 27-week long-term illness leave for employees unable to work due to a serious medical condition as defined by a medical practitioner, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s.
If passed, this would be one of the longest provincial leaves in Canada and would ensure workers with a serious medical condition can get treatment and recover without risking their jobs.
“Our government has a clear mission: ensure Ontario continues to be the very best place to live, work, and raise a family,” said David Piccini, minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development. “That means making sure Ontarians never have to choose between being a worker or a parent, and that if a worker gets sick with a critical illness they can take the time to recover without worrying about their job. We’re also promoting and protecting tradeswomen as an essential part of our workforce in every sector: we see you, we value you, and we can’t build Ontario’s future without you.”
PPE changes proposed in Ontario
To bring more women into the trades and grow Ontario’s trades workforce, the provincial government will also propose expanding the explicit requirement for properly fitting personal protective equipment (PPE) for women in the construction sector that was included in the Working for Workers Act, 2023 to include all sectors.
In 2023, 374,600 women were employed in a skilled trades-related occupation in Ontario, representing 29% of the 1.3 million Ontarians who were employed in a skilled-trades related occupation, according to the government.
Recent research published by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) found that 50% of women said their PPE does not fit properly, 43% said it is uncomfortable to wear and 35% said the selection of women-specific PPE is inadequate.
Ontario is also proposing specific requirements on employers that will increase accountability and transparency with washroom cleaning records to ensure workers have access to clean washrooms. This would build on the new duties for employers and constructors related to clean washrooms that were passed under the Working for Workers Five Act.
Half of respondents to the Ontario Building and Construction Tradeswomen 2022 survey cited better washroom facilities as something needed to make construction more appealing to women.
British Columbia has required construction sites with 25 or more workers to provide workers with flushable toilets, along with handwashing facilities and clean bathrooms since Oct. 1.
ESA changes welcomed in Ontario
Several stakeholders have welcomed the proposals being forwarded by the Ontario government.
“We are so pleased to see that the nearly 700 families in Ontario who welcome a child through surrogacy and adoption each year will now have the same time off work to bond with their new child as any other parents,” said Zane Colt, board chair, Conceivable Dreams, and father by surrogacy.
Andrea Seale, CEO of Canadian Cancer Society, noted that nearly 40% of people diagnosed with cancer are in their working years, ages 20 to 64.
“That means cancer often comes at a time when expenses are high, and others are depending on you. There are already enough worries that come with a cancer diagnosis; wondering if you have a job to come back to shouldn't be one of them,” she said. “The Government of Ontario is demonstrating strong leadership for expanding job protection for those with serious illnesses to 27 weeks. We know that cancer doesn’t wait – but your job should."
The Ontario government previously passed its fifth Working for Workers Act, requiring menstrual products on construction projects with 20 or more regularly employed workers and where the project is expected to last at least three months.
