Month in Review – Prince Edward Island

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Month in Review – Prince Edward Island

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LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Laws

May 12: Prince Edward Island launched two new programs to support oyster businesses: i. the Oyster Relief Wage Assistance Program offsetting payroll costs for increased sorting and handling requirements; and ii. the Oyster Industry Interest Relief Program covering interest costs on term debt loans made before May 1, 2026, for businesses with losses of at least 30%.

Leaves of Absence

May 20: Bill 106 banning employers from making employees provide a certificate signed by a medical practitioner certifying that they are or were unable to work due to illness or injury for purposes of verifying their eligibility for sick leave is out of Committee and just one step from passage.

Action Point: Find out about the rules determining whether you can ask sick employees for a doctor’s note and what you can do to verify health-related absences, in both PEI and all other Canadian jurisdictions.

Training

Apr 24: The new Canada–Prince Edward Island Workforce Tariff Response program will invest $3.1 million over the next three years to support workers in softwood lumber, steel, and other industry sectors affected by tariffs. The money will enable over 350 PEI workers to build new skills.

Action Point: If your company is feeling the effects of tariffs, you need to find out about the temporary EI Work Sharing program changes.

Health & Safety

Apr 21: A week before the National Day of Mourning, the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) revealed that there were nine work-related deaths in Prince Edward Island in 2025, including both acute and chronic fatalities.

Health & Safety

Apr 29: PEI reports that Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) hospitalizations among infants and seniors have declined by 93% and 52%, respectively, since the province expanded its RSV protection program last year. The RSV program began in fall 2024, offering vaccines to residents of long-term and community care homes. In fall 2025, it expanded to include infants and seniors 75+ living independently.

Action Point: Find out how to create a legally and clinically sound workplace Exposure Control Plan to protect your employees against the risk of RSV and other infectious illnesses.