Canada's Safe Restart Program Will Provide Workers 10 Job-protected Paid Sick Days Related To COVID-19

On July 16, 2020, Prime Minister Trudeau announced a federal investment of more than $19 billion that will provide support to Canadians through the Safe Restart Agreement. The purpose of the investment is to help Canada's provinces and territories safely restart their economies and become more resilient to future waves of COVID-19.

A key priority of the investment is to encourage workers who lack paid sick leave to remain at home when they have COVID-19 or its symptoms. This will be achieved through the creation of a temporary income support program that will provide each worker with a job-protected leave of absence of 10 paid sick days related to COVID-19. Each province and territory will have to establish the leave for its own jurisdiction by enacting its own regulation or legislation. The program's eligibility criteria and duration have not yet been announced. The estimated cost of the program across Canada is $1.1 billion.