Melissa Corbeil left her husband after years of abuse — the day he choked her “to the point of seeing stars,” and as her terrified young daughters witnessed the violence.

She then needed time off work to talk to the police, deal with the courts, speak to a counsellor — to make sure she and her girls were safe. Corbeil said she was fortunate because her employer allowed her to miss work when needed, and make up the time later on.

That’s not the experience of most victims — it’s estimated that almost 10 per cent lose their jobs because of the impact of domestic violence — and now 54 unions with the Ontario Federation of Labour have signed a pledge to make it a priority to negotiate 10 paid days off, as well as better supports in the workplace, in all contracts.

Their efforts are based on a private member’s bill from New Democrat MPP Peggy Sattler (London West), which now has the support of the labour minister.

“In southwestern Ontario, we had two very high profile deaths, of Lori Dupont and Theresa Vince, both of whom were murdered in their workplaces,” said Sattler. Dupont, a nurse, was stabbed to death by her ex-partner, a doctor, at a Windsor hospital; Vince was shot by her boss, who had sexually harassed her for years at their Chatham workplace.

“The idea of having flexible work arrangements, where you can change hours of work so you’re not going to be stalked by your abuser, who knows your start times and stop times. If it’s a workplace that has multiple sites, the ability to transfer to another site would be important,” said Sattler, the NDP’s women’s issues critic.

“. . . I think there’s growing recognition that flexible work arrangements are good HR practices, but in the case of domestic violence we know from the experiences of women who’ve been murdered at their workplace, they’re a matter of life and death.”

Earlier this year, Manitoba was the first province to pass legislation providing five paid days off, as well as unpaid leave. Sattler’s bill proposes 10 paid days, and also includes those who have survived sexual violence. The days must be used for specific purposes — seeing a doctor, accessing rape crisis services or dealing with the justice system, among others. And employers have the right to request “reasonable evidence” that the leave is being used for those reasons.

“So it’s not open-ended — but it’s very important to note that the bill does not require the survivor to prove the domestic violence or sexual violence” occurred, she said. “But we did want to include some protection for employers.”

For bosses that might balk at the cost of providing paid leave, Sattler notes that in Australia, where 10 paid days are provided, the average taken is one to three. “It doesn’t end up opening the floodgates.”

Her proposed Bill 26 caught the attention of Labour Minister Kevin Flynn, who said he supports it and has included it as part a major workplace review.

In the past, as with other leaves, the provincial government typically gives workers the right to take the time off, and the federal government pays for it through EI — something he thinks might work in this case. That would also ease employer concerns.

“You’ve got a premier and a government that takes these types of issues in a much more serious way than they’ve been treated in the past,” Flynn said. “I think there’s a mood to do something about it.”

The Ontario Federation of Labour says its 54 member groups — representing one million workers — will push for changes, a group that includes the main teacher unions and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“Women should not have to choose between their safety and their job,” said OFL secretary-treasurer Patty Coates.

For Corbeil, paid leave is essential to help anyone escaping violence.

“Paid leave would have allowed me to take care of things and start the healing process,” she said, “without feeling like I was letting my colleagues down, without having the stress of work when I could barely get out of bed in the morning.”

Such changes, she added, “would send a powerful message to women everywhere.”

From Bill 26:

An employee is only entitled to a leave of absence under subsection (2) or (3) if the employee uses the leave of absence for one or more of the following purposes:

1. To seek medical attention for the employee or the employee’s child in respect of a physical or psychological injury or disability caused by the violence.

2. To obtain services for the employee or the employee’s child in respect of the violence from a victim services organization, domestic violence shelter, rape crisis centre, sexual assault centre or other social services program or community agency.

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3. To obtain psychological or other professional counselling for the employee or the employee’s child in respect of the violence.

4. To relocate temporarily or permanently for the purpose of making future violence against the employee or the employee’s child less likely.

5. To seek legal or law enforcement assistance for the employee or the employee’s child, including preparing for or participating in any civil, criminal or administrative proceeding related to or resulting from the violence.

6. To do anything else prescribed by the regulations.