Charlottetown, PE - Today the Dennis King government used its majority to vote down Green MLA Matt MacFarlane’s amendment to the Employment Standards Act that would remove the sick note clause. The amendment proposed removing the small but significant burden of writing sick notes for employees who fall under the Act from our struggling and overwhelmed healthcare system.

All Progressive Conservatives including Premier Dennis King, Minister of Health and Wellness Mark McLane, and Minister of Workforce Jenn Redmond voted against the bill.

The bill would simply have removed the requirement of employees to obtain sick notes when taking a sick day under the Employment Standards Act, which amount to three paid sick days accumulated after three years of employment and three unpaid sick days accumulated after three months of employment.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that Dennis King and his PC government killed this bill. We have to do everything in our power to support our hardworking frontline healthcare workers and improve patient access to healthcare. Today the PC government failed Islanders and failed our frontline healthcare workers,” said MacFarlane.

It is estimated that on PEI more than 8,000 hours of clinical time is wasted annually on writing sick notes - time that could be better used towards patient care.

“Removing the sick note clause would remove an unnecessary administrative burden from our healthcare workers, free up space in our overcrowded doctors’ offices, walk-in clinics and ERs, and help keep sick Islanders who don’t need medical treatment at home where they can get better,” said MacFarlane. “It should be clear to Islanders after today’s vote who in the legislature is willing to do the work and improve our healthcare system – and it is not the Dennis King government.”

The Green caucus will continue to listen to our frontline, treat them with dignity and respect, and improve the way our province recruits healthcare workers.