Description: A report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer finds that workers in the public sector take about the same number of paid sick days as their private-sector counterparts.

Source: The Toronto Star

Date: 02/06/2014

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/06/public_servants_take_similar_amount_of_sick_days_as_private_sector_report.html#

Related links:

• The PBO report
• The PBO homepage
• News story: Federal government cracks down on sick days
• Ottawa Citizen story
• Blog post by Dr. Fiona McQuarrie

Questions for discussion:

• Describe the role of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
• What does the report conclude?
• How do public sector workers differ from private sector workers, according to the report?
• How does this affect sick leave?
• How does the report affect Tony Clement’s claims of sick leave abuse in the public service?