Ontario set to introduce 'historic' new legislation to give gig workers $15 minimum wage
CBC
The Ontario government is set to introduce what it says is first-of-its-kind legislation that would extend the province's minimum wage to gig workers.
The Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act is aimed at adding protection for app-based workers like Uber and Lyft drivers, Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton says.
"It's important that we have a foundational set of rights for these workers," McNaughton said in an interview with CBC News on Sunday, calling the legislation "historic."
"I want workers to get a bigger share of the economic pie."
The proposed legislation comes just three months ahead of the Ontario election in June and would give workers a $15 minimum wage, allowing them to keep their tips on top of that base pay. It would also ensure workplace disputes are resolved within Ontario in an effort to avoid any unnecessary travel fees.
Workers would also be required to receive written information on how their pay and tips are calculated.
"We continue to hear time and time again that some of these workers are making three or four dollars an hour," he said. "There was one worker that made $1,500 dollars one week and the next week, for the same hours, made $500."
McNaughton says he is confident other provinces will follow Ontario's lead. He and Premier Doug Ford are set to unveil further details of the legislation in a news conference later Monday morning. You'll be able to watch that live in this story.
The forthcoming announcement comes after Ford's government increased minimum wage to $15 an hour in January, a move that excluded gig workers.
In October 2021, many gig workers put pressure on the province to grant them basic workers' rights by classifying them as employees.
Since then, the government has made a series of changes to improve workers' rights, many of which were recommended by an expert committee, tasked by the province late last year with addressing labour disruptions from the pandemic.
The Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee prompted the province to start developing a "portable benefits" system for workers who don't have health, dental or vision coverage, with the package intended to move with the individuals if they change jobs.
The expert group also recommended that the government force greater transparency in gig work contracts and create a "dependent contractor" category for app-based gig workers that would guarantee employment rights like severance pay.
McNaughton says changes like these are crucial if the province hopes to keep up with the way technology app-based jobs have changed how people work.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.