Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn was in Hamilton Thursday to present the provincial government’s proposal to expand job-leave protection to victims of domestic or sexual violence under Bill 148.
Under the expansion, employees would be able to take up to 17 weeks off in a calendar year, if they have been with the company for 13 weeks consecutively.
The time would be given to attend doctors appointments, to seek legal assistance, to connect with victim services or to relocate.
Survivor Lia Grimanis says being able to take leave without fear of job loss would have made a difference in her life when she needed it most.
“I can personally attest to how dramatically our life can come to a screeching halt after such a crisis,” she said.
Looking to the future, Grimanis says she’s optimistic that it will help the clients she works with at Up with Women, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping recently homeless and at-risk women to build sustainable and prosperous careers.
“We need to be able to put protections into place, I think it’s a really brave act to be able to put this forward,” Grimanis said.
The proposal also accounts for when a worker’s child experiences abuse.
“So many of our clients who have seen their children experience sexual or physical abuse are also traumatized by that,” said Grimanis. “Not only are they trying to support their children, they need the support themselves.”
Flynn says the decision to roll new job protections into the bill is the result of consultations over summer.
“We think by adding a new separate leave for victims, we’re going to give workers, we’re going to give their families the time and support they need while they deal with tremendously difficult circumstances,” he said from Hamilton’s YWCA, Thursday.
Employers will not be required to pay for the leave of absence but Flynn says the province is working on obtaining financial support.
“I have written to my federal counterparts in Ottawa,” he said.
“Should this bill pass we’ll be looking to them to partner with us in the way that they have partnered with us in the past on compassionate leave for example,” Flynn said.
The Minister of Labour admits there are some details that the government needs to ‘iron out,’ such as how a person will provide evidence of entitlement.
“We want to be as flexible as we can,” he said.
“I don’t think you’ll find those onerous provisions of proof will be the priority at the time, the priority should be getting the person the help they need.”
Flynn says he hopes to see Bill 148 passed sometime this Fall.
If it does receive support, job-protected leave for those impacted by sexual or domestic violence will come into effect on January 1, 2018, making Ontario the second province to do so.
Comments