Latest news with #LabourStandardsCode
CBC
17-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Contentious bill casts chill over job protection, access to information in N.S., committee hears
Members of the public lined up Monday to express concerns about an omnibus government bill they say risks placing a chill over public servants' ability to do their jobs and weakens people's access to information in Nova Scotia. Among other things, Bill 1 would give the government the ability to fire non-unionized civil servants without cause. Provisions would also exempt those workers from protections afforded through the Labour Standards Code, which apply to most employees in Nova Scotia. "It shakes me up that somebody who can do what Bob Strang [Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health] does for us would have less job security than somebody who's been slinging coffee and doughnuts for 12 years," Pat Clahane, a former Justice Department lawyer, told the public bills committee. Another presenter told the committee that members of the public service owe their loyalty to the province and the public, not whatever political party is in power. Lily Sangster said the bill arms the government of the day "with the power to fire anyone who won't cook the books, lie to the public, hire their friends or spend public money on their donors." "Can you be sure that this power won't be used in a discriminatory way or to silence those who have been mistreated?" asked Sangster. "Do you trust public servants to tell hard truths to elected officials when they fear for their jobs if they don't paint a rosy enough picture?" Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said the thousands of unionized workers she represents are also paying attention to Bill 1. Mullen has previously said the government is targeting job protection language in the latest round of bargaining with unionized employees. Another aspect of Bill 1 that received a lot of attention is a proposed change to access-to-information laws that would allow the heads of government departments, agencies and municipalities to reject applications if they determine the submission is "trivial, frivolous or vexatious." That change, like much of Bill 1, was not what the Progressive Conservatives campaigned on during the fall provincial election, said Sambro resident Hugh Thompson. "This is our information. We own it, and the government holds it for us — not the other way around," he told the committee. "I deserve to know what's going on." Although Premier Tim Houston has said amendments are coming that would put that power in the hands of the privacy commissioner, the amendments have yet to be made public. Like other presenters, Thompson called on the government to give the commissioner order-making power — something Houston promised to do while in opposition and after first forming government in 2021, but has so far failed to enact. The premier announced several weeks ago his government would withdraw a pair of controversial clauses in Bill 1 related to the province's auditor general. One would have given the government the power to fire the AG without cause if it had two-thirds support in the House. The other would have given cabinet ministers the ability to suppress auditor general reports from the public. Other measures in Bill 1 include: Witness testimony at the committee is scheduled to continue Tuesday. A total of six bills are before the committee.
CBC
20-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Nova Scotia extends paid leave for domestic violence victims
Nova Scotia is extending the amount of time a person can take off work, with pay, if they're experiencing domestic violence. The Tory government is changing the Labour Standards Code so that employers will have to provide five paid days of leave, up from three. The change takes effect April 1. The regulation defines domestic violence as an act of abuse that can be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological. It can include coercion, stalking, harassment or financial control, or it can be a threat of such abuse. The perpetrator could be a current or former intimate partner, a relative or someone who lives with them. Kristina Fifield, a registered social worker and trauma therapist who specializes in intimate partner violence, says the extra days are a step in the right direction, but she'd like to see more. "I think we need to look at reimagining how survivors are supported in workplaces across our province," she said in an interview. "Paid domestic violence leave and intimate partner violence leave is one part of it, but I think that employers in our province can do a lot more in supporting survivors and victims that are going through this." Fifield said she'd like to see 10 or more paid days, as well as accommodations such as allowing people to work from home or another location. She said employers need to acknowledge that people might not "be at their best at work" while they deal with the trauma of abuse. She said it's up to the government to enshrine more support in government regulation and policy, and up to employers to work on improving workplace cultures. Labour Minister Nolan Young refused to do an interview at Province House. A news release from his department said the decision was made after consultation with unions, advocacy groups and other community partners. It said the change aligns with an NDP bill that passed with all-party support last year declaring domestic violence an epidemic, as well as recommendations from the Mass Casualty Commission, the Lionel Desmond fatality inquiry and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Fifield was at Province House on Wednesday prior to the announcement about paid leave because she was participating in a rally against gender-based violence. About 50 people gathered at Halifax Regional Police headquarters and marched to Province House. Organizers said they want "an urgent, epidemic-level response" to gender-based violence, a long-standing issue that has seen a recent spike. Intimate partner violence deaths In a period of just three months, six women in Nova Scotia were killed by their male partners. In the wake of those deaths, advocates have been calling for stable, core funding for organizations that support victims of intimate partner violence. Fifield reiterated that Wednesday, and added that more intervention and prevention work is required. "We need core curriculum from P to 12, also incorporating that education, awareness and prevention in universities and colleges and into workplaces." Also Wednesday, New Democrats tabled a bill that would establish a new fund for organizations that address gender-based violence. The money would pay for things such as shelters, transition second-stage housing, women's centres, advocacy campaigns and prevention initiatives. Speaking during debate on the bill in the legislature, Leah Martin, the Tory minister in charge of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, said there is plenty of work underway to address gender-based violence. "We have come light-years from the days when women suffered in silence," she said. Martin highlighted a $7-million bump to funding for transition houses and women's centres last year, and said the government will continue working with groups that address the issue.
