The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour has had a look at the “Safe Restart Agreement” announced yesterday.
President Danny Cavanagh says they like some parts but are waiting for all the details.
“Well, it seems to me to be a good announcement on the face of it but…like many things, when governments announce stuff, the devil’s in the details, so it’ll be interesting to see what some of those details are as things roll out.”
The Federation was quite pleased to see the sections on sick leave and child care, two areas where they’ve long pushed for changes.
Cavanagh says they’re a bit cautious about it but there are some parts they like.
“We’re pleased to see a number of things in the announcement. So, out of the seven things, paid sick days are something that the Prime Minister has been touting to the provinces for a bit of time now, so we’re encouraged by that and we hope and we hope that they can all get together and move on that.”
He says they are also looking forward to hearing more about public childcare, something they’ve been talking about for a number of years.
Cavanagh also feels this province weathered the pandemic a lot better than many others but that people still need to buy local to help businesses survive.
says they are pleased to see the sections about paid sick days, public transit, and public childcare.
“And I’m talking childcare that’s available for more than the typical nine-to-five hours, where parents can drop their kids off early in the morning and pick their kids up after suppertime. So, I think it’s time, with some of the commitments that the federal government made, that we move to that kind of a public system in this country.”
He points out that many people in Canada don’t work the stereotypical nine-to-five job but they still need childcare.
Cavanagh also feels that many Canadians now understand how necessary a “basic income guarantee” is for a lot of people.
