Job protection for Reservists
John Turley-Ewart: Canada's shameful treatment of its soldiersFederally regulated industries offer no formal job protection for reservists who volunteer to serve overseas. And most provinces allow employers under their jurisdiction to dismiss employees who need a leave of absence to serve in the military. Only three of Canada’s provinces have passed legislation making such action illegal — Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made a special effort to raise this issue with provincial governments, most recently asking P.E.I. Premier Robert Ghiz to pass legislation in his province.
The Prime Minister should not have to ask. There is no reason why the smalll number of reservists who serve Canada abroad (in Afghanistan there are roughly 300 reservists) should have to come home to the unemployment line.
Why they do is a question Parliament and the premiers of Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, B.C., and New Brunswick should be made to answer the next time they declare how much they appreciate the sacrifice our soldiers make on behalf of all of us.
With an election pending in Ontario, a Federal election liable to be triggered at any time and Newfoundland and Alberta running out the clock on their respective governments, there's an opportunity to knock three more Provinces and the Feds off the list. It's becoming fairly obvious that the voluntary approach just isn't working.
Our Reservists deserve better.
PS - here's hoping Chrysler and GM vehicle sales experience an upsurge in Stephenville over the next year or so.
Cross posted to The Shadow, BBS
posted by WE Speak at 9:21 a.m.
3 Comments:
My only problem with that approach is the law of unintended consequences: if an employer knows they'll be forced to hold your job for a year if you volunteer to deploy, they may simply choose not to hire any reservists in the first place, or look for an excuse to lay off those who already work there.
If that comes to pass, and Canadians know that reserve service makes your prospects of getting a good civvie job more difficult, that could hurt reserve recruiting.
It's a crappy situation, and I'm not sure there's a good solution to it - other than for employers to voluntarily step up to the plate and do the right thing.
When I get a chance I'm going to take a look at the legislation in the three Provinces that already have the protection.
Fantastic idea, Paul. It might be worthwhile casting the net out to see how reservists and employers in those provinces view the program, and what their experience with it has been to date.
Post a Comment
<< Home