New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party will support last week’s throne speech on the condition that more Canadians be granted access to paid sick leave as part of draft legislation covering the federal response to the coronavirus epidemic.
The proposed legislation, Bill C-2, would see Canadians receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit transition to a version of employment insurance with enhanced eligibility or to one of three other new benefits.
Read:What did the throne speech promise for employers and workers?
In a press conference Friday night, Singh said his party’s support is contingent on changes to the wording of Bill C-2 to significantly increase the number of Canadians who will receive paid sick days. “Today marks the first step in achieving the first ever, in the history of our country, federal paid sick leave for Canadian workers,” he said.