Catégorie oBox : OBOXMA

On June 30, New Brunswick became the last province to implement a job protection system for residents claiming long-term sick leave. Now, all ten provinces in Canada have legislation in place to provide some sort of job protection for workers taking long-term sick leave. New Brunswick’s new law allows workers suffering from long-term illnesses like cancer to take 27 consecutive weeks of protected sick leave. New Brunswick’s previous law only gave workers five weeks of job-protected leave, meaning companies could theoretically start phasing out employees recovering from serious long-term injuries or illnesses.

Now, all Canadian provinces have legislation either giving 26 or 27 weeks of protected leave. The Canadian Cancer Society has been a strong advocate for legislation like this. With New Brunswick being the last province holding out, the Canadian Cancer Society called the legislation a huge win for Cancer and illness advocacy. While some provinces have had long-term job-protected sick leave, it didn’t become commonplace in Canada until after 2022.

For CCS, this milestone comes after years of advocacy to build a stronger safety net for working-age people facing cancer.

-Cancer Society of Canada

The legislative change took effect after receiving royal assent, granting eligible employees the right to take unpaid long-term sick leave without fear of dismissal solely because of their absence. While employers are not required to continue paying wages during the leave unless separate workplace policies or collective agreements apply, they must preserve an employee’s position or provide a comparable role upon their return. Labour organizations say the reform addresses an important gap in employment protections that had existed in New Brunswick for years, particularly as more Canadians face lengthy recoveries from serious illnesses and complex medical treatments.

When Canadians are facing cancer, their focus should be getting better – not worrying about financial hardship and losing their job,

-Andrea Seale, CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society.

Ottawa starting a wave of change

The government of Ottawa began the trend of protected sick leave in 2022, after giving federal workers 27 weeks of job-protected long-term sick leave. While the province of Quebec has had this legislation for more than two decades, it stood as the only province to have job protection for people recovering from long-term illnesses. With Ottawa implementing this system for its federal workers, the rest of Canada latched on to the trend. From 2023 to 2025, a wave of provinces implemented similar systems.

Ontario and British Columbia were the first provinces to implement the legislation. With Ontario’s unpaid « long-term illness leave » and British Columbia’s 27-week serious illness protection, the provinces began protecting their workers. In January of 2026, Central and Western Canada joined the trend. On January 1 2026, Alberta and Saskatchewan officially extended their job-protected sick leave to 27 weeks. New Brunswick became the final piece of the sick-leave puzzle in June 2026, passing its own law to extend its protected long-term illness leave to 27 days.

Details of protected sick leave

While every province has a slightly different system for its protected sick leave, there are similarities across the board. None of the provinces mandate that the long-term illness leave be paid, meaning workers will have to rely on either Employment Insurance (EI) or their own savings. While protected sick leave is a great resource, it only takes some of the stress off Canadians battling illness. With Cancer treatments often coming with ancillary fees (depending on the care), the long-term illness protection plan doesn’t always guarantee personal security.

What it does guarantee, though, is that workers’ jobs will still be there after they recover from their long-term illness. In the US, companies face very few regulations regarding long-term illness leave, with dozens of workers suffering from cancer or other long-term illnesses being let go. The result is sick employees who have lost their work-provided health insurance. Now, Canada has ensured that it is policing employers and protecting Canadian workers.

Doug Ford is once again parlaying uncertain times into political success. Ford has continually proven that he’s at his best when he’s faced with a challenge. His government didn’t botch COVID-19, sporting lower death rates than the surrounding provinces, and he managed to spin Donald Trump’s anti-Canada threats into political support. Now, he’s trying to make an individual impact on the Canada-US trade war by visiting Congresspeople and State officials.

The premier signed a memorandum of understanding with Utah on June 29 with Governor Spencer Cox and is now staying in the state to attend the annual Western Governors’ Association meeting. Representatives from 22 states and U.S. territories are part of the gubernatorial organization, including some major states like California and Texas. With the Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement due for a mandatory review on July 1, it’s no mistake that Doug Ford is dedicating time to powerful US governors this week.

Canada and the United States are always stronger when we work together to increase co-operation, collaboration and trade so we can grow the economy on both sides of the border,

-Doug Ford

Ford doing what Carney asked

Doug Ford is completing the objective that Prime Minister Mark Carney imbued in his premiers: build relationships with the US. It’s become clear that many state governors and legislators are not pro-tariff like Donald Trump wants them to be. Several states that rely on duty-free trade with Canada have suffered under Trump’s trade war, and Carney knows that states hold more power than many Canadians realize. With CUSMA up for review on July 1, the remaining duty-free trade between Canada and the US is at risk.

Currently, only 15 per cent of trade between Canada and the US is tariffed. The other 85 per cent is protected by CUSMA guarantees. The agreement guarantees free trade between the countries, and even Donald Trump was not able to circumvent the document. Trump has continually called CUSMA a terrible deal for the US, even though Trump is the one who created CUSMA. When Trump came into power in 2016, he abolished NATO, the trade agreement between the countries of North America. In its place, he created CUSMA. Now, he’s claiming that CUSMA is an even worse deal than NATO, and he’s blaming it on both Obama and Joe Biden.

MOU with Utah

Ford’s latest agreement was signed with Utah Governor Spencer Cox during a visit to Salt Lake City. The MOE is establishing a three-year framework for cooperation in critical minerals, nuclear energy, defence manufacturing, artificial intelligence, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. The memorandum of understanding is designed to strengthen supply chains, encourage investment and create new business opportunities between Ontario and Utah. Provincial officials say the agreement builds on a broader effort to diversify Ontario’s economic partnerships while maintaining strong commercial relationships with American states that remain important trading partners despite ongoing tensions between Ottawa and Washington.

Utah and Ontario share a strong commitment to building and powering the future. This agreement strengthens an already important trade relationship and supports good jobs on both sides of the border,

-Gov. Spencer Cox

Ford trying to save his political career

Doug Ford needs to be successful in the US. While his handling of crises in the past has boosted his popularity, the lack of crises over the last year has showcased how poor his handling of everything else is. A whopping 70 percent of Ontarians want Ford out of Queen’s Park, and for good reason. Doug Ford has continually shown he does not care about union workers, first responders, healthcare workers, teachers, and other vital public servants.

Recently, he was booed off the stage of his own festival by hundreds of angry blue-collar workers. Teachers, nurses, and union workers all came out in droves to publicly shame the premier, and eventually he had to cut his speech short as he couldn’t be heard over the well-deserved jeers. Fifty-six per cent of Ontarians believe Doug Ford is taking Ontario down the ‘wrong track’, and support for his provincial conservatives has now dropped to 41 per cent, its lowest rating since Doug Ford’s initial election win.

Ford at his best in the US

Their polling is telling us the same thing as our polling. If he’s leaning into that, he does well. If we’re talking about health care, if we’re talking about housing or cost of living, he’s not.

-Abacus president David Coletto

The same Abacus poll that showed Ford’s waning numbers also showed the areas in which Ontarians do have confidence in their leader. Ford earned successful grades in his handling of the Canada-US trade war, earning the support of his constituents. Ontarians overwhelmingly believe Ford has handled the situation in the US well, and it’s why his spending time in Utah this week bodes well. Ford knows where he is best, and he knows where Ontarians support him: when he leaves Ontario.

Ontario has said no to an offer from Ottawa and will be refusing to allow rural companies to increase their hiring of foreign temporary workers during the summer. Ontario immigration minister David Piccini confirmed that the province is not interested in increasing the number of foreign workers being employed in rural areas. Piccini cited youth unemployment rates as the reason. Ontario’s youth unemployment rate has risen over the last three years. Nearly 15 per cent of Ontarians aged 15-24 are jobless.

Ottawa recommends increase

The federal proposal was announced earlier this year by Employment and Social Development Canada. Initially, the program was designed as a temporary measure for provinces and territories experiencing acute labour shortages in rural regions. Under the initiative, provinces could request permission for eligible employers to retain their existing number of low-wage temporary foreign workers and increase the allowable workforce cap to 15 per cent until March 2027. Currently, the cap is at 10 per cent. Federal officials said the policy is trying to address the unique challenges many rural communities face in recruiting and retaining workers while maintaining safeguards. Employers are required to demonstrate that they first attempted to hire Canadians and permanent residents.

Canadians must always be first in line for available jobs.

-Employment and Social Development Canada

Ontario refuses proposal

Surprisingly, Ontario immediately refused the proposal. Immigration Minister David Piccini made it clear that Ontario is trying to move away from its reliance on temporary foreign workers, not increase it. During a press conference in Kitchener, Piccini made it clear that Ontario is not interested in expanding its foreign worker program, citing the province’s chronic problem in drawing workers to mass labour sectors. Piccini sent a letter to federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, officially opting out of the program. While the proposal may make things easier and more affordable for companies, according to Piccini, it does nothing to help Ontarians.

Over the past few years, the rapid expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has had a clear and damaging impact on opportunities for Ontario workers, particularly young people looking to get their start in the workforce

-David Piccini

Piccini offered alternative strategies, claiming the province would rather invest in long-term solutions instead of Band-Aids. Ontario is planning to address the issue through regional and provincial permanent immigration pathways that help employers fill in-demand jobs and attract skilled workers to rural communities while protecting local workers. Piccini stressed the need to create Ontarians with the skills necessary to undertake the work normally done by foreign temporary workers. While Piccini is certainly correct in addressing the need to ‘skill-up’ Ontario’s young workforce, the province is also dealing with thousands of jobs sitting empty.

According to Restaurants Canada, the foodservice sector currently has 58,000 job vacancies, a number projected to grow to 105,000 by 2030. Shortages were felt more prominently in rural areas. While temporary foreign workers only make up about 1,5 per cent of the industry, according to Restaurants Canada, they have been a lifeline for the food service industry in the last three years. David Pierce, the vice-president of government relations at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, commented on the issue. Pierce claimed that while supporting youth employment is important, a range of factors influence employment gaps.

As our research shows, it’s not as simple as the pervasive narrative that temporary workers are taking jobs away from Canadians who want them,

-David Pierce

What are temporary foreign workers?

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is a Federal Canadian program that allows employers in certain sectors to hire low-wage temporary foreign workers when they cannot find qualified Canadians to do the work. The program is managed jointly by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Before an employer can hire a foreign national through the TFWP, they must generally obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This document proves that there is a need for a TFW. The employer must prove they have made reasonable efforts to recruit locally and that they are offering fair wages and working conditions. The employer must also prove that they have tried to hire a Canadian citizen beforehand.

For Ontario employers, their foreign temporary worker cap will remain at 10 per cent. While the provincial government has the opportunity to alter its position, it seems unlikely that Doug Ford will back down from this mountain. Rural businesses that had hoped to benefit from the higher workforce cap will continue operating under the current 10 per cent limit, while sector-specific exemptions already in place for industries such as health care, construction and food processing remain unaffected. As labour shortages continue to affect much of rural Ontario, the province’s decision ensures the debate over balancing workforce needs with domestic employment priorities isn’t over; it’s just begun.