Ontario Supporting Women and Families in the Trades

Our government is building a stronger workforce by promoting the trades as the most rewarding careers in the province.

With our new Working for Workers package, we are bringing better training, better jobs, and bigger paychecks to more workers and families.

You shouldn’t need to choose between working and becoming a parent. That’s why we’re proposing a 16-week unpaid job-protected parental leave under the Employment Standards Act for adoptive parents and parents through surrogacy.

We’re also proposing a new unpaid job-protected 27-week long-term illness leave for employees unable to work due to a serious medical condition that is debilitating but not life threatening, such as multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s, to match the length of the 26-week federal EI sickness benefits, including the one-week waiting period – the longest provincial leave in Canada.

And we’re bringing more women into the trades and growing Ontario’s trades workforce by requiring all sectors to have properly fitting personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE) for women.

We’re sending a message that, when you have a job in the trades, you have a career for life – wherever your life takes you.