In early March, Kelley Roberts was looking for she calls a “sit-down job” — anything that would allow her to earn a living without having to put pressure on her damaged knees.
Months earlier, the Welland, Ont. resident had to go on Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits after she became unable to stand for long periods of time or squat, both of which were routine parts of her job working at the cashier’s desk and stocking shelves at a local Dollarama, she told Global News.
Doctors said she’d need knee replacement surgery in both legs, she said. When Roberts went back on the labour market earlier this year, she said, her job hunt was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, as job vacancies dried up overnight. “I have no income,” she