Hello! Brenda:
Here is the press release you were referring to.
PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun
DATE: 2003.02.04
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: 10
ILLUSTRATION: photo of BERNARD LANDRY
Overhaul
SOURCE: BY CP
DATELINE: QUEBEC
HEADLINE: LANDRY CALLS FOR 4-DAY WORK WEEK
The Parti Quebecois government has proposed a landmark four-day work
week for parents in a bold move to sway middle-class voters from the
Action
democratique, observers said yesterday.
Premier Bernard Landry plans to overhaul provincial labour standards and
guarantee parents the right to reduce work hours by 20% -- without pay
but
also with full-time benefits.
The guarantee would apply to parents with children under age 12 as well
as
people caring for elderly or handicapped relatives, said Landry, who
made the
announcement at a weekend party convention.
The move, which is intended to boost Quebec's lagging birth rate while
bringing families closer and reducing *work*-related *stress*, met with
predictable reaction yesterday.
Business leaders hate it and labour unions love the proposal, the first
of
its kind in Canada. The PQ estimates the shorter work week will cost
businesses $100 million a year.
Meanwhile, pundits see it as an ingenious political move calculated to
boost PQ fortunes in the three-way race leading to the provincial
election
expected as early as April.
"I think it's intelligent for them to be doing this," said Christian
Dufour, a political scientist at Montreal's National School of Public
Administration.
"Young, middle-class families are attracted by the ADQ. This could help
win
a new clientele for the PQ."
Both opposition parties are appealing to middle-class voters with a
message
of smaller government and tax cuts.
However, Landry's latest move has thrown a considerable hurdle before
them.
They're now stuck arguing against a longer weekend -- which is a little
like campaigning against Santa Claus.
One observer says the move is classic PQ, famous for its big-government
policies.
"You can certainly criticize the PQ for its bureaucratic style,"
columnist
Michel C. Auger wrote in Le Journal de Montreal.
"But when comes the time to prepare an election platform, the Pequistes
have the right idea.
"Young families, in case you haven't guessed, are the precise target
group
which moved away from the PQ to the ADQ in recent months."
But the proposal drew harsh criticism from business leaders, who fear a
serious blow to the provincial economy.
"In a perfect world, we'd all work two days a week and we'd all be
happy,"
said Richard Fahey, a provincial vice-president for the Canadian
Federation of
Independent Businesses.
Filename: st_sunmedia!20030204WS_053005022.txt
*** END OF STORY ***
Suzanne Sabourin
Mental Health Promotion Unit
Health Canada
A/L 1907C1, Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1B4
(613) 954-7802
"Poland, Brenda"
<[log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask]
LTON.ON.CA> cc:
Sent by: Health Subject: Quebec's 4-day work week
Promotion on the
Internet
<[log in to unmask]
>
2003-02-07 02:37
PM
Please respond to
Health Promotion
on the Internet
Bonjour!
This is probably best answered by someone in Quebec.
I have recently heard about Quebec approving a 4-day work week for working
parents with children up to age 7. This would not be a compressed work
week
(e.g. four nine-hour days), but instead, a reduced work week.
Does anybody have more details on this...such as applicable for provincial
employees only, or for employees within the private sector too? Program
implementation date? Contact name for more info?
Thanks for your help with this - I'm interested in this considering that
I'm
working on a special project concerning family-friendly workplace
practices.
Brenda Poland
Health Promoter
Halton Region Health Department
1151 Bronte Road
Oakville, ON
L6M 3L1
Tel (905) 825-6060 x7804
Fax (905) 825-8588
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