‘There's overwhelming support and evidence out there from the business community, the medical community, Islanders that we don't need these anymore’
For the second time in two years, Prince Edward Island's governing Progressive Conservatives have voted down a private member's bill that would have prohibited employers from requiring sick notes from absent workers.
Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane's bill was defeated 10 to seven along party lines on May 20, The Guardian reported. All Progressive Conservative members present voted against it, while Green and Liberal members voted in favour. Seven government members, including Premier Rob Lantz, were absent from the chamber.
Speaking to CBC after the vote, MacFarlane called the result "ludicrous" and said he may reintroduce the bill. "I guess I'm curious as to why government feels the need to keep this requirement," he said.
"There's overwhelming support and evidence out there from the business community, from the medical community, from Islanders generally that say we don't need these anymore."
New employment standards act pending
Under the existing Employment Standards Act, P.E.I. employers may require medical documentation only after a worker has been absent for three days. That three-day threshold remains in force, leaving current HR attendance policies and employee handbooks compliant for now.
The more significant development for HR practitioners is the still-unproclaimed overhaul of the Employment Standards Act, which the Progressive Conservative government passed in November 2024. Roughly 18 months later, the amendments have not taken effect.
Workforce Minister Zack Bell told The Guardian he "did not know the exact reason" for the delay but expects proclamation imminently.
"I'm very confident that it will be proclaimed next month," Bell said. Once proclaimed, the new act will raise the documentation threshold from three days to five and broaden who may sign a note from a physician to any "qualified practitioner."
Health care burden drives debate
Kay Dingwell, an emergency room physician at Prince County Hospital in Summerside, joined MacFarlane on the floor to argue the current rule wastes scarce clinical time. According to The Guardian, Dingwell sees at least two patients per shift seeking only a sick note, with each low-acuity visit consuming 40 to 60 minutes of front-line staff time and waits running as long as 14 hours.
"The use of the health-care system by private employers for the purposes of policing employee attendance is outdated, unacceptable and, in this day and age where many other provinces have passed legislation similar to this, is approaching the point of unconscionability," she told the legislature.
The Canadian Medical Association, doctors and labour experts have called for limits on employers’ ability to demand medical notes for short‑term illness.
