Sarnia-Lambton's MPP is justifying his decision to vote against proposed NDP legislation for paid sick days.
The "Stay Home If You Are Sick Act", put forward by Labour Critic Peggy Sattler, calls for 14 government-funded paid sick days during the pandemic, and seven permanent ones.
Bob Bailey said that would be redundant, because there's already an underutilized federal program available called the Canadian Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB).
"The federal government and the province signed something like a $19-billion agreement," said Bailey. "One of the clauses in the agreement was almost $1.1-billion to cover the cost of ten paid sick days originally, and Premier Ford has bargained and they've increased that to 20 sick days."
Bailey said only about 30 per cent of that federal money has been accessed, and they still have about $700-million to dole out across Canada.
The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) gives income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are unable to work because they are sick or need to self-isolate due to COVID-19, or have an underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk of contracting the virus.
Those eligible can receive $500 for a one week period, and can apply again for up to a total of four weeks between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.
