Ontario Liberals propose four-day work-week pilot project if elected in 2022
The Ontario Liberals say they will launch a pilot project to “analyze the potential for a four-day work-week” if elected in June 2022.
Leader Steven Del Duca announced the proposal Sunday afternoon during a keynote address at his party’s Annual General Meeting, citing research being done in other countries such as New Zealand, Japan and Spain.
“I want us to understand if it has merit here,” Del Duca told the party in the public address. “We’re a party that believes in science, expertise and evidence-based decision-making and so I want us to gather the facts in an open and transparent way.”
“Let me be clear, improving the way we work does not mean that people don’t want to work hard.”
A four-day work week would allow employees to work the same number of hours over four days instead of five, resulting in a longer break period between shifts.
One company in Ontario has already implemented the practice after a testing period, saying it helped prevent burnout and had a minimal impact on productivity.
"The truth is that it was instantly impactful on our business," Jamie Savage, CEO and founder of Toronto-based recruitment company The Leadership Agency, told CTV News Toronto earlier this month.
Employees with The Leadership Agency still receive the same pay and number of vacation days per year.
Savage said that while the policy may not be possible for all industries, she noticed her employees were happier and more productive.
For Del Duca, he noted the pandemic has changed the way most people do their jobs, with many now working from home.
“People want the chance to work hard and work meaningfully, without their job having a brutally negative impact on families, mental health, the environment and quality of life,” he said. “We need people in Ontario, particularly the next generation of workers, to believe they can live happy lives and pursue rewarding careers right here.”
Del Duca added that his government will soon be releasing other election policies that will “reflect the new realities of our workforce.”
According to an Angus Reid poll released in June 2020, just over half of Canadians would support a four-day, 30-hour work week. The poll found that 53 per cent of respondents thought it was a “good idea.”
Trials run by Reykjavík City Council and the Iceland government found the idea an “overwhelming success,” with productivity either remaining the same or improving while “dramatically” improving the wellbeing of workers.
Ontarians head to the polls on June 2, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.