For the seventh time in just 13 school days, families across Kingston, Ont., woke up to cancelled buses on Wednesday, forcing many parents into a familiar morning scramble to juggle child care and professional obligations.
While schools remained open, the cancellation of transportation left many students at home. For working parents, the sheer frequency of “snow days” since the holiday break is testing the flexibility of local workplaces.
Scribbles notes that tension often arises when the weather doesn’t seem to match the cancellation, leading to skepticism from employers.
“When the weather conditions don’t match, and your employer is like, ‘Hmm,’ or your professor even… it can be difficult to explain,” she said.
However, employment lawyers warn that penalizing workers for child care emergencies isn’t just bad policy — it may be a violation of human rights.
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John Dunn, a Kingston-based employment lawyer, says the Ontario Human Rights Code includes specific provisions for “family status,” which requires employers to accommodate parents who have valid child care responsibilities.
“The code becomes important for single parents who have no partner, no friends, no family, and particularly when the child has special needs,” Dunn said.
Lior Samfiru, host of the Employment Law Show, agrees. He says that if an employee has no other option for child care, the employer has a legal obligation to find a solution rather than punish the staff member.
“An employer has a legal obligation under human rights legislation to accommodate parents that have to provide child care… and not penalize the employee,” Samfiru said.
According to Samfiru, accommodations could include allowing the employee to work from home with pay, or providing unpaid time off if remote work isn’t possible. He says he frequently receives calls from workers who are told “that’s your problem” and threatened with consequences.
Despite the logistical headaches, parents like Scribbles acknowledge that the cancellations are a safety precaution.
“Safety is paramount. I get it, and everyone’s just trying to balance this,” she said.
With winter far from over, Kingston parents — and their employers — may need to keep those contingency plans ready.
–with files from Jesse Reynolds
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