PC MPPs in Peel block paid sick days, vote down NDP bill

PEEL — Several Conservative MPPs from the Peel Region on Monday helped Doug Ford’s government block an NDP bill to give workers in Ontario both permanent and pandemic-specific paid sick days, in spite of calls for paid sick days from local leaders.

Amarjot Sandhu (Brampton West), Prabmeet Sarkaria (Brampton South), Deepak Anand (Mississauga-Malton), Rudy Cuzzetto (Mississauga-Lakeshore), Natalia Kusendova (Mississauga Centre), Sheref Sabawy (Mississauga-Erin Mills) and Nina Tangri (Mississauga-Streetsville) all voted against the Stay Home If You Are Sick Act. This flies in the face of calls for paid sick days from Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, and Peel Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh.

“If Peel’s Conservative MPPs hadn’t helped the Ford government block the Stay Home If You Are Sick Act, workers in Brampton and Mississauga could have had paid sick days when they woke up today,” said NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh (Brampton Centre). “Instead, people in Peel are returning to jobs in health care and food processing without that support, doing essential work while the government turns its back on them, again.

“Paid sick days are an important public health measure in our fight against COVID-19 — particularly in Peel Region’s essential workplaces,” added Kevin Yarde, NDP MPP for Brampton North. “Peel’s local leaders recognize that, and it’s disappointing that the Ford government doesn’t.”

Peggy Sattler’s Stay Home If You Are Sick Act would have given workers 14 paid sick days during the pandemic, as well as seven permanent paid sick days.

“Workers in Peel are keeping essential services going, even as our community has been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic, and we owe it to them to give them paid sick days so they can afford to take time off if they’re unwell and protect their co-workers and families,” said Gurratan Singh (Brampton East). “The NDP isn’t going to stop fighting to give workers in our community this support, because paid sick day can help end the cycle of sickness and lockdowns.”