• Government employees take an average of 11.2 days per year, while private sector employees take 6.8 days per yea
• Statistics Canada data shows substantial differences by province and level of government

VANCOUVER, BC: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has discovered a “More Sick Days Virus” (MSDV) that is sweeping the nation. According to data obtained by Statistics Canada, government employees take many more sick days off of work every year than private sector workers do – and the numbers of people falling ill in government ranks continues to climb every year.

“There is a strange phenomenon we have noticed where government employees take significantly more sick days away from work than their private sector counterparts,” said Kris Sims, BC Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “A more troubling diagnosis? The More Sick Days Virus is prevalent right across the country. If it wouldn’t cost taxpayers so much money, a Royal Commission ought to be struck to investigate this contagious health concern.”

The gap between days lost to illness or disability between government and private sector workers ranges from a high of 70 per cent in New Brunswick (12.6 days to 7.4 days) to a low of 25 per cent in Prince Edward Island (10 days to 8 days).

In British Columbia, the stats show that federal government employees take an average of 17.9 sick days off per year due to illness or disability while workers in the private sector take an average of 6.8 sick days off of work per year. BC’s provincial government employees were slightly healthier than their federal brothers and sisters, taking 11.4 sick days away per year – still nearly double what workers outside of government take.

For a detailed breakdown of sick days by province and level of government click HERE.