The Ford government says its plan for improving paid sick leave in Ontario involves topping up payments already offered to workers through the federal government's sick benefits program but Prime Minister Trudeau said Tuesday the solution must involve employers.

During Question Period in the Ontario legislature on Tuesday, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton confirmed reports that the province has reached out to the federal government and proposed a plan to improve Ottawa's Canada Recovery and Sickness Benefit (CRSB).

"We are calling on the federal government to double the payments from $500 to $1,000 for four weeks of paid sick days," McNaughton said.

"The province of Ontario will cover 100 per cent of the cost of doubling this program. We join with other provinces like British Columbia to call on the federal government to be our partner to ensure that workers not only in Ontario but across the country are paid more than minimum wage."

Last week, Premier Doug Ford promised that his government would soon release information about a long-awaited provincial paid sick leave program, which he claimed would be "the best program anywhere in North America, bar none."

But on Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported that the Ford government's plan now involves boosting the benefit offered by the federal government.

"It's been about five days since the premier of this province promised the best paid sick days program in all of North America," Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said during Question Period.

"Today, we find out from reports in the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail that rather than pass legislation here in this chamber that would actually bring paid sick days to Ontario workers, this government wants to piggyback on a broken federal system that is not working for working people."

She noted that on 25 separate occasions, the Ford government has voted against motions and legislation on paid sick days that were introduced by members of the opposition.

"Workers are dying. People are dying in this province and paid sick days can save lives," she said. "We all know that. We also know that the federal program simply does not work and in fact, the feds are rebuffing the premier's advances when it comes to their failed benefit program."

McNaughton said Tuesday that the province has successfully advocated for improvements to the federal program in the past.

"We support the health and wellbeing of every single worker in the province. That's why we have worked with the federal government since Day 1," he said.

"Over 80 per cent of the federal program is directly deposited into workers' bank accounts within three to five days because of our advocacy.... We advocated months ago to the federal government to ensure that workers could apply more than once. That is now happening."

Public health experts, including members of the province’s own Science Advisory Table and local medical officers of health, have spoken out about the need for a provincial program above and beyond the federal government's Canada Recovery and Sickness Benefit (CRSB).

Workplace outbreaks have been a major source of infection in the province and experts have repeatedly cautioned that the situation will not improve until workers have better access to paid sick days.

The Ford government eliminated a paid sick days program introduced by the previous provincial Liberal government in one of its first acts after taking office in 2018.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that it is his preference that the province work with employers to directly provide workers with paid time off if they have symptoms, a positive COVID-19 test or a need to isolate.

"One of the most efficient ways of doing that is obviously to work through employers as we have through federally regulated workplaces, and I know the deputy prime minister is working directly with the province of Ontario to ensure that the right supports get there for people as quickly as possible."

"As we've said, we are there to help Canadians, we have people's backs and we need to work together. Provinces need to look at the way to deliver it simply, directly through employers which the federal government can't do."

In response to the prime minister's comments, McNaughton said that the Ford government "will not burden businesses."

"I’m pleased that the federal government committed today to coming to the table to double the pay for Ontario workers to $1000 a week. We look forward to partnering with them to fill this gap and continue improving their program to maximize support for Ontario workers and their families," a written statement from McNaughton read.

"Our government will not burden businesses during this challenging this time. We want to ensure businesses survive this pandemic and that workers have jobs to come back to. We are ready to work together on solutions that put the people of Ontario first."

Speaking to CP24 on Tuesday, Ontario's Solicitor General Sylvia Jones again pointed to a need for improvements to the federal program rather than introducing provincially legislated paid sick days.

"We were quite disappointed that during the federal budget last week that they didn't make any improvements. We know that in fact the $1.1 billion that was set aside federally, less than $300 million has been used so the program needs to be updated and expanded," she said.

"We are calling on the federal government to do the right thing because this is a national issue that needs to be dealt with and we'll continue to work with them and encourage them to make improvements so that we can have a better system so more people can apply."

'We are going in circles here'

Dr. Michael Warner, the medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, said the province's strategy will not get to the root cause of the issue.

"Doubling down on the CRSB will not address the root cause of workplace transmission," he tweeted on Tuesday.

He noted that "workers need reassurance their paycheque will be unchanged" if they take time off for symptoms or to care for symptomatic dependents, exposure, testing, vaccination, and recovery from vaccination.

Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, an infectious diseases specialist in Toronto, said the province is simply "passing the buck" to the federal government.

"There is no level of incredulity to express my shock, disappointment to this response," he tweeted on Tuesday. "This is the definition of passing the buck. And more will die needlessly because 'essential' means nothing now."

Speaking to CTV News on Tuesday, Sharkawy said the CRSB is designed to work "retroactively."

"It is not intended to be something that gives essential workers the security in knowing that they can leave their job site, not go to work because they are already feeling ill, or because they need a vaccine. And that's fundamentally the problem here... We are going in circles here unfortunately with the province saying the federal government has to do the work here," he said.

"We all know that sick leave is a provincial jurisdiction and I really wish it didn't take this long, several days of deliberation, to essentially come up with the same plan we already had, changing the dollar figures but changing absolutely nothing in terms of security for the essential workers who count the most."