TORONTO – Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, issued the following statement:
“Today, Ontario Liberal MPP Michael Coteau’s Bill for paid sick leave will be debated at Queen’s Park. For months, Doug Ford’s Conservatives have been blocking the Bill, each time saying that provincial paid sick leave is a bad idea and double dipping.
Now that Doug Ford is in a political crisis, he’s done a 180. Doug Ford wants to play hero for thousands of essential workers when he’s been acting like a villain all along.
Should Doug Ford choose partisanship and politics over passing our Bill, there are some bare minimum standards their program needs to meet. First, it needs to include all workers, including those in precarious employment. Next, it needs to include time off to be vaccinated or tested for COVID-19. Finally, it needs to last the duration of the pandemic, not only for the length of Doug Ford’s stay-at-home order.
Should he fail to deliver on the needs of Ontario’s workers, he will cement the position he already holds as Ontario’s worst Premier, and calls for his resignation will only grow. This is Doug Ford’s last chance to get this right.”
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