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Ontario is open for sickness. Ontario is open for poverty wages. Ontario is open for law-breaking bad bosses. And we have Premier Doug Ford's Bill 47, which was passed today by a vote of 69 in favour and 45 against, to thank for it.

For those who believed Ford when he promised to stand up for the people, today's betrayal will not be forgotten. He has now told Ontario workers loudly and clearly, that his is a government for Big Business and Big Business only. 

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We are outraged. By passing Bill 47 today, the Ford government not only took the most modest protections away from millions of workers, but did so despite an overwhelming and well-documented opposition from the public. Over 77% of Ontarians -- including 64% of Conservative voters -- oppose Ford government's decision to eliminate paid sick days. Over 66% of Ontarians -- including 62% of small businesses -- support a $15 minimum wage. 

The economic evidence is also clear: the $14 minimum wage and other labour law reforms have not harmed Ontario's economy. From Statistics Canada to the Bank of Canada, there is not a shred of evidence to excuse this government's action. No wonder the right wing Toronto Sun and corporate Financial Post were reduced to publishing misleading claims from a fringe, ideologically-motivated Montreal-based think tank. Respected economist Michal Rozworski de-bunked these claims in just a few hours -- click here to get the facts.

Premier Ford and the Conservative Members of Provincial Parliament know, they had NO MANDATE to rollback labour law reforms. This is why they are repeating lies and avoiding their own constituents (the very people whom they get paid to represent). Across the province we've heard from hundreds of people that MPPs are not returning calls, refusing meetings, running out back doors or side exits, and in a couple of cases, actually turning out the lights and hiding in back rooms as constituents wait to be heard! 

They can run, but they can't hide. Yesterday, over 120 supporters of the $15 & Fairness campaign packed the gallery inside the provincial legislature. WE were the majority inside Queen's Park and we shut it down and successfully delayed the vote on Bill 47 for another day.  

Check out the CityNews coverage of our action by clicking here

We are not exaggerating when we say that our movement for decent work is growing every day. Some of the people who joined us at Queen's Park last night were in fact taking their first action with us. Like all of us, they are angry and ready to fight. It will be up to every single one of us to stay organized, stay strong, and push back against the lies coming from this government, and their corporate friends. Have a listen to some of the plans we have for moving forward by tuning into yesterday's $15 & Fairness Assembly (click here), held right after the Queen's Park action. And watch your inbox. We'll have a detailed analysis of all the things we were able to protect against this round of corporate backlash that will make a huge difference for millions of workers, from job-protected emergency leave to the $14 minimum wage. 

If you are reading this, YOU too have made our $15 and Fairness movement so much stronger. Remember, WE are the majority. And with your support, there's no way we'll let this government off the hook for what it's done. And we will be well-placed to win the next round. 

(TORONTO, ON) -- With the unconscionable passing of Bill 47, which takes away basic workplace rights from Ontarians, this government has shown again that it is governing for the few, making decisions without sufficient consultation and research that will drive millions of working Ontarians into poverty, say labour and community advocates.

“The Ford government is attacking workers across this province. Workers have been telling them what’s needed for a dignified life: workplace laws that offer protections based on the realities of modern workplaces and the very real need for a $15 minimum wage. Instead, this government has chosen to treat Ontario as if the laws of the 1990s will do the trick today. They won’t,” said Ontario Federation of Labour President Chris Buckley. “Passing Bill 47 leaves millions of Ontarians without the protections and wages that are needed for them and their families to thrive in our province.”

“It is clear that workers can’t count on their government to support them. Unions will. I urge all Ontario workers to join a union so they can collectively bargain better rights in their workplaces and keep fighting until these protections are the law for every worker in this province,” added Buckley.

The Ontario economy benefited from the labour law reforms introduced in 2017, with 83,000 new jobs created since the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act came into effect.  Unemployment has also dropped to record lows, after minimum wage was increased to $14.

“Passing Bill 47 shows that this government is not considering the real-world effects of decent work laws, which have helped the Ontario economy,” added Buckley. “It also ignores the voices of the people who will be most affected by these laws – women workers, racialized workers, Indigenous workers and workers with a disability. Now, it will be much easier for unscrupulous employers to take advantage of their employees. I say shame on this government for the damage it has done to Ontario workers.”

Today’s announcement by the government of Ontario repealing the majority of Bill 148 steals basic rights from Ontario workers. Ford’s plan eliminates paid sick days, cuts wages, makes it easier to fire workers in precarious work, makes it more difficult to join and keep a union, cancels fairer scheduling laws and lowers fines for employers who break the law.

This announcement also means a real-dollar wage cut for minimum wage employees.

“Under this new act, it will be at least 2025 before minimum wage workers see a $15 minimum wage, and by then it will be, once again, a sub-poverty wage,” said Pam Frache, Coordinator of the Fight for $15 and Fairness. “Doug Ford’s government is cutting our $15 minimum wage just six weeks before it was to take effect. To cut wages, to cut sick days, and to make it easier to fire workers who are already in precarious situations is cruel and callous in the extreme.”

Ontarians have held marches, rallies, signed and presented petitions, called and emailed MPPs demanding this government protect workplace rights and the $15 minimum wage. Nonetheless, the government has passed Bill 47, despite growing public opposition.

“Removing equal pay for equal work provisions will increase the gender and equity wage gap, and intensify the discrimination that so many workers face in the labour market,” said Frache. “And it goes without saying that as long as employers are allowed to pay part-time staff less than their full-time counterparts, employers will have an incentive to create multiple part-time jobs instead of creating full-time ones.”

“We know that without strong workplace protections and a $15 minimum wage, workers’ health suffers. We hear from educators that students who face poverty face difficulty learning in school and themselves often work to supplement the low wages of their parents,” said Buckley. “By contrast, a higher minimum wage is good for workers, for the economy, and for our communities. That’s why the labour movement and communities are going to continue to push for changes, including a $15 minimum wage.”

To arrange interviews or for further information, please contact:

Nil Sendil
Communications Coordinator,
Fight for $15 & Fairness
[email protected] l 647-710-5795

By Sara Mojtehedzadeh

Legislation rolling back significant labour protections introduced under the previous government has passed at Queen’s Park, meaning workers will no longer have the right to two paid sick days and will not receive a scheduled minimum wage bump to $15 this January.

Protests disrupted the legislature’s gallery late Tuesday, pushing the vote by a day. Under fire from NDP leader Andrea Horwath Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford said the “most needy people in society” told him they had been laid off because of the previous’ government’s “job-killing” labour legislation.

By Luke Zurcher

On November 10 at 4 pm, the 5 Days for Survivors: March for Work Rights for Survivors of Sexual Violence gathered in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to march for the retention of Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act.  

Bill 148 establishes various workplace rights and protections, including an increased minimum wage, easier access to a greater number of personal emergency leave days regardless of workplace size, ten days of leave in cases of exposure to sexual or domestic violence, and equal pay for workers performing equal work. 

In October of this year, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government began consideration of Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act. This legislation will repeal significant sections of Bill 148, including a halt to the rising minimum wage, which will be subjected to annual inflation adjustments, and reductions on personal emergency leave days.  

Currently, workers employed for a minimum of 13 weeks have access to two categories of leave: domestic or sexual violence leave, and personal emergency leave. For each, employees are granted up to ten individual days of leave annually, with five days paid under domestic or sexual violence leave, and two paid under personal emergency leave.  

According to Bill 47, personal emergency leave days will be repealed in order to “establish separate entitlements to sick leave, family responsibility leave and bereavement leave.” Employees under the considered Bill 47 will receive three days of sick leave, three days of family responsibility leave, and two days of bereavement leave annually, all unpaid.  

Bill 47 does not address domestic sexual violence leave days. However, the 5 Days event page claims if Bill 47 is passed, “many of the other rights in the workplace that survivors need such as higher wages, equal pay and control over work schedules are at risk.” Event organizers argue, “We need to link and connect all forms of violence [to] build a strong movement that protects us in all aspects of our lives.” 

Katie Bishop, a first-time organizer, created the 5 Days march to draw awareness to the current features of Bill 148 as well as the projected changes of Bill 47. Driven by personal experience, Bishop organized the march when she was unable to access five days of paid leave in her workplace as a victim of sexual violence. 

The 5 Days Facebook page says: “We need to push for changes on how Survivors can use the 5 days of paid leave and expand access to personal emergency leave.” The page points to the current inaccessibility of personal emergency leave days in spite of Bill 148’s implementation. 

The march began in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and travelled south along University Avenue, stopping at the Ontario Immigration building at University and Dundas. Four speakers spoke outside this building: Katie Bishop, a representative for Fight for $15 & Fairness, one working in Trauma Support, and a Consent Educator. 

Bishop spoke about the urgency of the issues, discussing her personal experience as a survivor of sexual violence, and the difficulties she faced in accessing the five days of paid leave provisioned by Bill 148. 

Fight for 15 and Fairness spoke about the necessity of the rising minimum wage, which in its current state keeps a significant number of minimum wage workers living at the poverty line. The speaker discussed the negations planned by Bill 47, which will revert progressions made by the Fight for 15 and Fairness in favour of the employer over the employee. 

Speakers for Trauma Support and Consent Education spoke together about sexual and domestic violence. They discussed the time it takes both for personal recovery from violent trauma, as well as for seeking professional help, an option which is not always easily accessible. Further, domestic violence usually involves moving, which can be complicated by family and conflict. All of this can take significant time, resources, and energy, beyond what is provided by five days of paid leave. 

Each speaker discussed the difficulties that those who work minimum wage jobs with unsafe conditions still face, despite the enactment of Bill 148 one year ago. The speakers argued that the negations proposed by Bill 47 will only worsen already difficult conditions and will significantly lessen Ontario workplace safety and equality. 

The march concluded at 6  pm with a candlelight vigil for four people who died while employed at Fiera Foods–affiliated factories, one of whom died just this October at a factory in North York, due to unsafe work conditions. 

Bill 47 was carried to a second reading as of November 12 and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. A November 5 CBC news article stated the bill “is likely to be approved due to the [current] government’s majority.” 

The 5 Days march has been one in a string of protests across Ontario that have taken place in the past two months regarding Bill 47.

Read The Strand full story

By Sarah Mojtehedzadeh

The Ministry of Health was not consulted about the health impacts of proposed new legislation to remove Ontario workers’ right to two paid sick days despite extensive literature showing the policy’s public health implications, according to three individuals who met with health minister and deputy premier Christine Elliott earlier this month.

The Nov. 6 meeting with Elliott about Bill 47, which proposes significant changes to workplace standards, was attended by emergency room physician Jesse McLaren, Fight for $15 organizer Jessa McLean, and Katherine Grzejszczak, president of CUPE Local 905, which represents York Region municipal employees, including front-line health-care professionals.

By Emma Paling

The Progressive Conservative government was supposed to pass its landmark labour law.

TORONTO — Ontario lawmakers delayed their final vote on a key labour bill because the public gallery was packed with protesters on Tuesday evening.

The Progressive Conservative government was scheduled to pass Bill 47, which will roll back labour reforms introduced by the previous Liberal government. The law will freeze the minimum wage at $14 an hour for about a year, and end two guaranteed paid sick days per year for workers.

After PC and NDP members spoke about the law, demonstrators got to their feet and chanted.

"Ford, you broke your promise. You're not for the people," they shouted, referencing Premier Doug Ford's slogan "for the people."

The protesters were organized by advocacy campaign Fight For $15 and Fairness, who accuse the government of shutting down public debate on the bill.

"This government has made no attempt to listen to any people in Ontario about this law," said Deena Ladd from Fight For $15 and Fairness.

She said the government only heard from the public for one day at a committee meeting.

"We had so many workers who put their names forward who wanted to speak, but they found out on Wednesday afternoon to speak the next day. You tell me: who can change their shift at the last minute?"

The PCs have said in the legislature that they consulted with stakeholders for months.

On Tuesday, Minister of Economic Development Todd Smith said that Liberal reforms were "a cinder block around the ankles of small businesses."

The government says that reducing the burden on businesses will help them create more jobs and strengthen the economy.

Minister of Labour Laurie Scott noted that Ontario's $14 minimum wage is one of the highest in Canada.

"The previous government had imposed a massive 21 per cent increase in employment costs on Ontario business just this year," she said during question period on Tuesday. "Instead of helping, this rapid increase led to a reduction in hours for many workers, and for our younger workers; it led to a reduction in their job opportunities."

Alberta is the only province with a higher minimum wage than Ontario, at $15 an hour.

Staff for Scott and Smith did not respond to HuffPost Canada's requests for comment Tuesday evening.

One owner of a small business, who was at Queen's Park Tuesday to protest the PC changes, said that Liberal reforms actually helped her business.

Gilleen Pearce, owner of Walk My Dog Toronto, said she has very low staff turnover because of high wages. She is also the spokesperson for a network of business owners called Better Way Alliance.

It costs thousands of dollars to train a new employee, and takes a long time for clients to trust new dog-walkers to come into their house while they're at work, she said in an interview with HuffPost Canada. Employees stay in their jobs because they make $14 an hour and have guaranteed time off.

Pearce said she plans to raise her employees' pay to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2019, even though the hike won't be required.

"There's no way I would take that raise away from them after it was promised to them by the government."

Read the Huff Post full story

By Katherine DeClerq

The Progressive Conservative government is set to pass theMaking Ontario Open for Business Act, which repeals a labour reform bill that, among other measures, raised the minimum wage and offered employees extended medical leave.

The labour reforms passed by the former Liberal government would have seen minimum wage increased to $15 an hour and emergency medical leave extended to 10 days, including two guaranteed paid sick days.

The new bill, which is expected to pass on Wednesday, freezes the minimum wage at $14 an hour and reduces the number of medical leave to eight days. Those eight days are further divided into specific entitlements.

There is no longer guaranteed paid leave.

Ford said that it is up to the employer to give their workers more time off if they require it.

“Someone is under the weather, they are a great employee, they (employers) usually give them a break. But that’s up to the employee and the employer to make those deals.”

The new bill also allows an employer to require a worker to provide “evidence” when they ask for days off due to medical or family reasons. This decision has been criticized by the Canadian Medical Association, who has said that asking for a doctor’s note poses a “public health risk” and will encourage employees to come in to work when they are ill.

The Ontario Liberal Party, who passed the original reform bill, called the Making Ontario Open for Business Act an “unfortunate development” that was not fair to workers.

“There’s no room for negotiation in these things. People have to know when they take their job, what their rights are,” said Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser.

The legislature gallery was packed with demonstrators who were unhappy with the employment standard rollbacks.

Deena Ladd, coordinator for Ontario’s $15 & Fairness, said the organization will continue to fight for a $15 minimum wage and more employee benefits.

“Well, I say it’s open for sickness, open for poverty wages and open for poor working conditions,” Ladd said. “We’re going to make sure that every single person knows what the record is on protecting people’s rights.”

The bill was meant to pass Tuesday evening, but debate was pushed to Wednesday.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Colin D’Mello and the Canadian Press

Watch the CTV News Toronto full story

A final vote on Premier Ford’s plan to repeal two paid sick days and freeze minimum wage is expected to take place at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.

Watch City News full story

(TORONTO, ON) -- Supporters of the $15 & Fairness campaign and decent work laws will pack the Queen’s Park Public Gallery to witness the final vote on Bill 47 on Tuesday, November 20, as the Ford government’s controversial legislation gets debated for its third reading.

A Campaign Research Poll released last week showed that 77 per cent, more than two-thirds of Ontarians including 64 per cent of Progressive Conservative voters, opposed the elimination of paid sick days, which Bill 47 seeks to do. In another survey, released by the Canadian Medical Association, 8 in 10 Ontarians said, in reference to the Bill 47 provision that will allow employers to ask for sick notes, that if their employer required a sick note, they would probably come in to work when ill.

Members of Provincial Parliament are expected to debate the Bill one last time, between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm on Tuesday, November 20, followed by a final vote. However, the Ford government has the power to change the timing of the debate at the last minute, to avoid public scrutiny.

If passed, Bill 47 would impose a real-dollar wage cut for Ontario’s lowest paid workers by delaying $15 until at least 2025. The Bill would also eliminate the two paid sick days, reduce the number of unpaid personal emergency leave days, make it easier to fire workers who decline last minute shifts and make it harder for workers to access union protection.

When:  Tuesday, November 20, 2018 
Where: Public Gallery, Queen’s Park Legislature
Speakers: Community and labour advocates involved with the Ontario-wide $15 & Fairness campaign will have media availability after the vote on Bill 47.

For more information and to arrange interviews: 
Nil Sendil
Communications Coordinator, Fight for $15 and Fairness
[email protected] l 647-710-5795

We just learned that Bill 47 will go for a final vote at the provincial legislature on Tuesday afternoon. This dangerous law will cut the minimum wage and delay $15 by seven (7)! years, eliminate paid sick days, reduce UNPAID sick leave, lower fines for employers who break the law, as well as roll back most of our new labour rights.

That leaves just three days for us to get as many of our friends, co-workers, and family to contact their Member of Provincial Parliament. If you haven't yet emailed your MPP please do it now (click here) and ask others to join you. Better, to make sure our elected officials hear our demand for decent work -- CALL YOUR MPP! You can find them and their phone number, by entering your postal code here. When you call, ask your MPP to vote against Bill 47.

If you are in Toronto, we need your help to pack the Queen's Park Gallery on Tuesday to witness the vote (click here to let us know you'll be there). Our best intel says MPPs will debate Bill 47 one last time (between 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm) before voting on it as early as 5:00 pm. *** Ford government has the power to change the timing of the debate at the last minute to avoid public scrutiny while they vote on Bill 47, please RSVP (click here) and watch your email so we can keep you updated ***

The public demand for $15 & Fairness is growing! More than three-quarters (77%) of Ontarians support paid sick days, and the vast majority want a $15 minimum wage and all the other reforms we fought so hard for. Premier Doug Ford and his government have NO MANDATE to roll back our rights (click to read our Bill 47 analysis). Every MPP who sides with Corporate lobbyists over the needs of their constituents needs to know we will not forget what they have done and we will not give up our fight.

Actions are happening every day to spread the word about our rights, and why they are at stake. Scroll down to find an event near you (or click here):

By Sarah Mojtehedzadeh

Removing workers’ right to two paid sick days and replacing them with unpaid emergency leave is “more progressive” for workers, Conservative MPPs said Thursday at a testy committee hearing for proposed new labour legislation.

Bill 47, which aims to undo numerous recently enacted measures including two paid sick days, equal pay for equal work, and a scheduled minimum wage bump to $15 in January, passed its second reading earlier this week and is now before the Finance and Economic Affairs committee.

By Doreen Nicoll

The Ford government have set in motion changes that will significantly add to the financial stress for women, including those looking to leave abusive relationships

The Raise the Rates Coalition is holding a rally outside Premier Doug Ford’s family business, Deco Labels, on Saturday (November 17), at 1 pm, to protest Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open For Business Act. Among other cost-cutting moves, the proposed legislation will repeal a planned $1 increase in minimum wage. That’s in addition to the Ford government’s decision earlier this fall to cut in half a long-awaited rate increase to already massively underfunded Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Payment programs.

While Bill 47 takes away hard-won protections for marginalized and racialized workers, the coalition says it’s women who stand to lose the most.

That’s because women comprise the bulk of part-time workers, says Pam Frache, coordinator of the Fight for $15 and Fairness Coalition, one of the groups organizing Saturday’s protest. The bill also removes equal pay protections. While employers are still prohibited from paying women less than men, the bill removes the right of employees to request employers review their rate of pay or provide a response in writing on the reasons why they may be receiving unequal pay.

Regarding women in the workforce, Frache says, “Maintaining a sub-poverty minimum wage and paying women less than their full-time counterparts exacerbates an already unequal situation.”

The Ford government’s proposed changes will also make it more difficult for female-dominated workplaces, like home-care services, to unionize.

Bill 47 maintains provisions brought in by the previous Liberal government providing up to 17 weeks of leave for victims of sexual assault or domestic violence. Those provisions include five days of paid leave, time that is generally used to go to doctor’s appointments, get legal assistance, find new housing, find child care and to access a variety of services for themselves and their children. But the bill repeals 10 days of job-protected leave for personal and family illness.

London West NDP MPP Peggy Sattler, the party’s former women’s critic, points out that for women escaping violence, “if her job is insecure and doesn’t pay enough to lift her out of poverty, she may still feel forced to stay in the abusive relationship.”

Research shows that women are far more likely to fall into poverty after leaving a relationship than men. Too often women are afraid to leave or are forced to return to their abusers because they can’t afford rent, child care, food, clothing and other basic necessities.

With most women’s shelters operating over capacity due to a lack of affordable transition and permanent housing, the added burden of insufficient income makes it all the more difficult for women to leave and remain out of abusive relationships. Now Ford and his government have set in motion changes that will significantly add to that financial stress for women.

Read the NOW Toronto full story

As we reported in our last update, the Ford government is sending Bill 47, the dangerous legislation that seeks to take away basic protections from workers, to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. This is a governmental committee including 9 members of parliament who will hear from the public on Thursday and consider changes to Bill 47.

TAKE ACTION
click here to speak out against Bill 47

Let's be clear: the government is not sending the Bill to Committee for democratic input. Rather, they are sending Bill 47 to committee as a means of creating another platform for their corporate backers to spread misinformation. Indeed, consultations have been scheduled for a mere five (5) hours. As such, it is unlikely that the voices of the 66% majority who support a $15 minimum wage and decent work will be well-represented in this process.

This is why your support is critical to make our voices heard. Can you take a minute right now to send a letter to the Standing Committee? We have pre-drafted one for you that you can send off with the click of a button (if you'd like, you can easily customize the letter and add your personal take on why Bill 47 must be repealed). Click here to send your letter now, which will be copied to the members of the Standing Committee and the leaders of the political parties.

We can not allow the Ford government to create the illusion of a "public consultation" while limiting feedback on Bill 47 to just 5 hours. Send your letter now to add your name to the list of people, businesses and organizations who support fairer labour laws. Let's create a public record of the majority support for decent work, in contrast to the minority voices of Big Business who'll comprise the bulk of people cherry-picked to make in-person presentations to the Committee. 

While flooding the inboxes of Committee members with letters calling for the withdrawal of Bill 47, we will also continue taking our message to the streets and the media. At least 3 cities, including Ottawa (Nepean), Toronto and Newmarket are scheduled to hold PUBLIC hearings on Thursday to amplify the voices of the people most affected by the proposed rollback of workers' rights (scroll below for event details or click here). Ford government and their deep-pocketed lobbyist friends can hold their 5-hour "consultation", WE will host our own public hearings.

There are actions happening every day of the week in all corners of Ontario. Just in the past week we have made headlines in Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor, Hamilton, Oxford, Chatham, Peterborough, and Toronto, to name only a few places. Scheduled and unscheduled MPP visits continue to unfold across the province involving faith leaders, teachers, health providers, faculty, students, workers, and other community leaders. Please scroll below to join an event near you, and don't forget to send your letter to the committee.

Monday, November 12th
HAMILTON
Hamilton Fight for $15 Working Meeting
Monday, 6:00PM - 8:00PM - CUPE 5167 Hall, 818 King St E
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

TORONTO
2 Weeks to Organize: UofT Meeting & Letter Writing
Monday, 6:00PM - 8:00PM - 720 Spadina Ave Unit 223
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Wednesday, November 14th
BRAMPTON
Peel $15 and Fairness Outreach
Wednesday, 8:00AM - 9AM - Brampton Gateway Terminal, 501 Main St S
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

TORONTO
Emergency Phonebanking for $15 & Fairness
Wednesday, 5:30PM - 8:00PM, 720 Spadina Ave Unit 223
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Thursday, November 15th
BRANTFORD
Brantford Transit Canvass
Thursday, 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Brantford Transit Terminal, 64 Darling St
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Brantford's Fight for $15 and Fairness Canvassing
Thursday, 12:00PM - 2:00PM, RCW Lobby, 154 Dalhousie St
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

By Sarah Mojtehedzadeh

Ontario is the only province in Canada to have a minimum wage for young workers that is lower than the minimum wage for adults — and Grade 12 student Taamara Thanaraj isn’t happy that a scheduled increase to that rate may soon be frozen.

She was one of a group of 30 students who gathered under drizzly skies at Yonge and Bloor Sts. Friday to protest Bill 47, provincial legislation that, if passed, will result in significant rollbacks to labour protections recently enacted including increases to the general minimum wage and the subminimum wage for students.

By Joelle Kovach

Dave Smith to host grand opening Saturday on Water Street

A protest is expected outside Conservative MPP Dave Smith's constituency office on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. over workers' issues such as the halted minimum wage hike.

The protest is being organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour, although it's expected to also include retirees from General Electric who developed cancer from exposure to workplace toxins.

Sue James, a GE retiree and health advocate, said she's been trying to get a follow-up appointment with Smith since he met with the retirees for the first time, in August.

"We want a face-to-face with Smith, who seems to be avoiding us," James said on Friday.

The protest will coincide with the grand opening of Smith's office – which he calls the Action Centre – at 1123 Water St. near Marina Blvd. in the city's north end.

Smith announced in October it would be a barbecue, and he'd offer free hotdogs and burgers.

He wasn't available for an interview Friday. When asked via text how he felt about the protest, he wrote that he will feed anyone who comes to his event.

"We want to encourage everyone who comes – including the protesters – to bring mitts, scarves and hats to donate to Brock Mission and Youth Emergency Shelter," he wrote.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) stated on social media Friday that the protest was organized in objection to the provincial government's treatment of workers.

The government proposes not to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour in January as planned by the previous Liberal government, for instance, and to cancel the two paid sick days that workers now get.

The government has also made cuts to the WSIB premiums, the OFL points out – and that concerns James because many GE retirees are seeking compensation for cancer developed from working with toxic chemicals.

James and a group of retirees – many of them sick with cancer – first met with Smith in August to ask him to help them advocate for compensation.

He said at the time he'd do research and update them on his findings in early September, but James has not been able to set a follow-up appointment.

She's spoken to Smith's staff a few times this fall, she said, but they've told her there's no point meeting because he has nothing to report.

"You really do feel he's pushing you aside," James said. "He really should be interested in his constituents and what's important to them."

When asked on Friday to respond to James's assertion that he's brushing off former GE workers, Smith responded (in writing) this way:

"We have an open house tomorrow and everyone is welcome to come."

Read The Peterborough Examiner full story

(TORONTO, ON) -- High school students, joined by teachers, will call on Premier Doug Ford to withdraw Bill 47 by organizing an action on Friday, November 9, from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm at Toronto’s Bloor and Yonge intersection. What stands to be the first-ever high school student rally in support of a $15 minimum wage, comes at the heels of 50+ Ontario-wide emergency actions that were held in response to the introduction of Bill 47 on October 23.

Bill 47, currently in its second reading, seeks to repeal almost all of the new workplace protections that were adopted a year ago, including the $15 minimum wage that is still scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2019 ($14.10 for students). If passed, Bill 47 would impose a real dollar wage cut for Ontario’s lowest paid workers by delaying $15 until 2025. The Bill would also eliminate the two paid sick days, reduce the number of unpaid personal emergency leave days, and make it easier for employers to fire workers who decline last minute shifts.

Students are holding the demonstration to call attention to the impact of poverty wage jobs. While parents juggle multiple jobs to pay the bills and tuition fees skyrocket, an increasing number of students are joining the workforce to help their families make ends meet.

When:  Demonstration on Friday, November 9, 2018 at 4:00 to 5:30 pm
Where: Northwest corner of the Bloor and Yonge intersection in Toronto
Speakers: High school students, teachers, community organizers will speak about the impact of Bill 47 and have media availability.  

For more information: 
Nil Sendil
Communications Coordinator, Fight for $15 and Fairness
[email protected] l 647-710-5795

By Kim Champion

Members of Fight for $15 and Fairness and the Ontario Federation of Labour had issues they wanted to discuss with Elliott

Workers rights activists met with Newmarket-Aurora MPP and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott on Tuesday during constituents’ week to plead their case that paid sick days are essential to public health.

As well as advocating for a $15-an-hour minimum wage and safe workplaces, members of Fight for $15 and Fairness and the Ontario Federation of Labour wanted to discuss with Elliott, also the province's health minister, the consequences of taking away paid sick days.

The local groups are fired up over the Ontario government’s move to repeal much of the former Liberal government’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, also known as Bill 148. The Ford government’s Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, would, if passed, freeze the current minimum wage at $14 an hour until 2020. 

Personal emergency leave, currently consisting of two paid days and eight unpaid days of protected leave annually for each worker, would be replaced with the right to three sick days, two bereavement days and three family responsibility days annually — all unpaid. Employers could once again require a doctor's note for time off.

“Paid sick days are essential to public health, especially coming into the too often deadly flu season,” $15 and Fairness spokesperson Jessa McLean said in an email. “Allowing employers to demand sick notes would be a burden on the already overcrowded health-care system and contribute to the hallway medicine that the Progressive Conservative government has vowed to end in Ontario.”

McLean's request for a meeting was acknowledged by Elliott in early October when the deputy minister was confronted by protestors in Aurora as she made her way into a local chambers of commerce event. Elliott told them she would be happy to meet.

The group delivered a petition that had more than 500 names on it from Elliott's northern York Region riding to maintain worker protections in Bill 148.  

“We presented hundreds of signatures from her constituents and we asked MPP Elliott to pledge to vote to withdraw Bill 47,” McLean said. “And she would not.”

The delegation who met with Elliott included McLean, Dr. Jesse McLaren, an emergency room doctor who shared his view that people turning up in the ER seeking doctor's notes for employers were a drain on public health resources, and CUPE Local 905 chief steward Katherine Grzejszczak, who shared her beliefs about fair scheduling, precarious employment and the positive outcomes of elevating labour standards across the board.

“Elliott acknowledged that the Health Ministry had not been consulted on Bill 47, which includes changes that will have obvious impacts on public health,” McLean added.

Meanwhile, Newmarket Chamber of Commerce CEO Tracy Walters said in a previous interview the Ford government’s new labour bill would "take off some of the pressure (small businesses) have been feeling on Bill 148 and the speed of the changes. Reducing the red tape burden will be welcomed."

While Walter said many local businesses support modernizing labour laws — and many already pay their employees above the minimum wage and for personal emergency days —  Bill 148 brought in changes too quickly and without consultation.

"It was too much, too soon," she added, "and actually caused more red tape." 

In a media release announcing the regulatory and legislative changes to come with the expected passage of Bill 47, Elliott said: “This new legislation will help bring more jobs to communities like ours and create a better environment for businesses to grow. During the campaign, we heard that doing business in Ontario was becoming increasingly unaffordable, and Bill 148 imposed unnecessary costs on Ontario job creators. That’s why we’re cutting red tape and taking concrete measures to create jobs and make sure Ontario is open for business.”

~With files from Debora Kelly

Read the Barrie today full story

By Fernando Arce

The Ford government's plan to eliminate paid sick days and reduce access to personal emergency leave has far-reaching implications for the health of every resident in Ontario

While Doug Ford’s Making Ontario Open For Business Act (Bill 47) is ostensibly about helping businesses, a coalition of labour activists and health professionals see it as a public health crisis in the making. 

Calling it a “massive step backward for health care in Ontario” during a press conference at Queen’s Park on October 30, Dr. Danyaal Raza, a family physician with the Department of Family Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital and member of the Decent Work & Health Network, says the bill “has implications for the health of every resident in Ontario.” 

The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, passed by the previous Liberal government in 2017, granted two out of the seven paid sick days that had been lobbied for by groups like the Fight for $15 and Fairness coalition, the organizers of last week’s press conference. But the Ford government wants to eliminate paid sick days altogether and reduce access to personal emergency leave. 

If passed, workers will be forced to parcel out their personal emergencies into a total of eight days of “personal emergency leave” (down from 10) all unpaid and divided into three categories: sick leave (three days), family responsibility leave (three days) and bereavement leave (two days).

Deena Ladd, a coordinator with the Workers' Action Centre, says Ford's bill should be renamed the "Making Ontario Open For Sickness” bill.

When asked about the rationale for eliminating paid sick days, the Ministry of Labour offered in an email response to NOW that “these eight days... would be in line with Alberta and British Columbia, and could be taken without fear of termination.” 

But as studies have shown, paid sick days can make a crucial, sometimes even fatal difference, when workers choose to stay home or work through their sickness.

“A lot of specialists don’t have availability in the evening, so having sick days allows patients to get to those appointments during the day,” says Raza. Employees without paid sick days also tend to get fewer flu shots, mammograms, pap smears and blood pressure checks.

The changes proposed by the Ford government mean that Ontarians will be at greater risk of contracting diseases when workplaces become inundated with sick workers unable to afford a day off to see their physician or get well. Raza says schools could soon follow when sick children are forced to attend because their parents or guardians can’t stay home with them.

Two years ago this scenario came to pass, with tragic consequences, when two-year-old Jude – described by his mother Jill Promoli as an otherwise “perfectly healthy child” – succumbed to influenza B, which had begun with a fever the day before. His sister had first caught the bug in her kindergarten class. Said Promoli at last week’s press conference: "One sick child came to school, and basically, it became an entire classroom full of sick children."

The Ford government’s legislation is also reintroducing employer-mandated sick notes. As CBC News reported, it was the Retail Council of Canada president Diane Brisebois, one of the main lobbyists for the bill, who claimed workers were abusing their privileges by faking illness.

However, studies in New York City and San Francisco, where employees receive between five and nine paid sick days, suggest fears about widespread abuse by employees are unfounded.

Raza says “most workers took three or fewer days off. And a quarter of workers took no time off at all. We’re learning from experiences of other jurisdictions.” 

Ford claims the bill is about finding “efficiencies,” but Raza says there is nothing cost-effective about it. 

“If the government is interested in making health care more efficient, then Bill 47 is in complete contradiction to that goal.”  

Read the NOW Toronto full story

By James Hopkin

Representatives from a number of local unions stood with the Sault Ste. Marie and District Labour Council in front of Sault Ste. Marie MPP Ross Romano’s constituency office Tuesday to rally for workers' rights.

Bill 47 - also known as the Making Ontario Open for Business Act - will scrap the planned $15 per hour minimum wage and reduce the number of sick days allotted to workers.

The minimum wage in Ontario will also be capped at $14 per hour until fall 2020.  

USW 9548 president Cody Alexander - who also serves as second vice-president for the labour council - says Romano has been silent in the Sault since the provincial election.

“We need to get the message to Mr. Romano that this is not acceptable, and that they need to stand for workers, as opposed to find ways to work them to death,” Alexander said.

Members of OPSEU, United Steelworkers and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario stood with the local labour council outside Romano’s Bay Street office, hoping to speak with the local MPP.

Romano’s office told SooToday that Romano is currently participating in a series of roundtable discussions in Thunder Bay, which were booked about a week ago.

“Doug Ford seems to take offence to the working class people, and he seems to want to continue to put money in big business’ pockets while not being concerned with the actual people that make the big business their money,” Alexander said.

The Ford government has stated that the repeal of Bill 148 will cut red tape and encourage business investment in part by scrapping the minimum wage hike.

Alexander says that he’s aware of the “fear mongering from the Ford government.”

“I haven’t seen any evidence of that,” Alexander said. “As far as what we’ve seen, it’s doing better for business, because people have more money to spend.”

“Many of the people that are making the minimum wage are also consumers, so having more money in their pockets is better for business all around.”

Alexander told SooToday that the labour movement has been fighting to stop precarious work for decades, and for awhile it felt as though gains were being made in that fight.

“A lot of these gains that we made with Bill 148 were long overdue,” said Alexander. “The minimum wage was one those that should’ve been increased yearly but it wasn’t, so as far as I’m concerned, the $14 an hour is less than what they should’ve been making anyways at minimum wage.”

Read the Soo Today full story

By Alison Braley-Rattai

Ontario’s Conservative government recently tabled the Open for Business Act (Bill 47). Bill 47 proposes to repeal the changes to Ontario’s workplace laws introduced by the previous Liberal government under Bill 148.

The purpose of Bill 148 was to increase fairness for workers, particularly those precariously employed, while balancing the interests of employers.

It was three years in the making and informed by a panel of two workplace law experts, which twice toured the province to hear from hundreds of witnesses before tabling its 419-page final report. By contrast, Premier Doug Ford’s government claims to have spoken with “dozens” of employers and unions prior to introducing Bill 47.

The purpose of Bill 47 is to “bring jobs and investment back to our province” and to increase “opportunities” for workers. One needs to look harder for any mention of fairness for workers or the creation of decent jobs, although the government claims to wish to “protect” workers. At the end of the day, however, Bill 47 will do none of the above.

The economic sky isn’t falling

By far, the most controversial aspect of Bill 148 was the increase in the minimum wage, from $11.60 to $14 in January 2018, with another scheduled increase to $15 set for January 2019. Bill 47 freezes the rate at $14, with an “annual inflation adjustment” as of October 2020.

Notably, the Ontario Conservatives have opposed every raise in the minimum wage since at least 1995, when they froze wages for eight years. They opposed this one as well, predicting rampant job loss. They were wrong.

In July, Ontario’s unemployment rate hit an 18-year low, with notable jobs gains in the hospitality sector, an industry among those most affected by Bill 148. Bank of Canada economists have said no evidence indicates that Bill 148 caused any general economic downturn.

The reality is that raising the minimum wage on its own has no net effect upon employment figures. The reason is simple: There are too many other factors at play. But that hasn’t stopped the government’s wrongful claim that Bill 148 has crippled the economy.

Bill 47 decreases fairness at work

While doing virtually nothing for job creation, Bill 47 will decrease fairness for workers.

For instance, Bill 47 repeals the provision giving workers the right to refuse work with less than 96 hours’ notice. Such notice is important for those with child/elder care issues, or indeed other jobs, to make appropriate arrangements.

Bill 47 retains the provision to pay workers for three hours if they are required to show up to work but are then not required to work for three hours. However, workers who are on call but are then not required to work will no longer have the same right to three hours pay. It also repeals the right to three hours pay if a scheduled shift is cancelled within 48 hours.

In the name of “flexibility,” employers retain the authority to make scheduling decisions that they believe best suit their bottom lines, while virtually all the risk for such decisions flows to workers.

Employers are not encouraged to make careful scheduling decisions, since they will no longer bear even the minimal responsibility of guaranteeing three hours pay in most instances. Meanwhile, last-minute scheduling changes wreak havoc on the lives of workers and their families.

Even the tepid provision requiring employers to consider requests for a change in schedule or work location in good faith, by providing reasons for a refusal of any such request, is now gone.

Precarious workers and temp agencies

What’s more, Bill 47 reintroduces an incentive to create piecemeal, precarious work. The proliferation of employment agencies — many fly-by-night — and the intense vulnerability of those employed through them has been well-documented. So too have the health impacts of precarious work for certain demographics that make up a large percentage of the precarious workforce.

The Liberals’ Bill 148 made it less attractive for employers to rely upon a casual, precarious workforce by removing distinctions in pay that were based upon “employment status.” The fact that a worker was hired through a temp agency or worked part-time hours could not be the basis for differential pay.

Because precarious work is often gendered and racialized, this provision had the added effect of reducing distinctions indirectly related to gender and race as well.

Bill 47 reintroduces pay distinctions based upon employment status.

What about balance?

The government claimed it was introducing Bill 47 to repeal those parts of Bill 148 “that are causing employers the most concern and unnecessary burden.” Evidently, this government suffers from an inability to prioritize since virtually all of Bill 148’s numerous changes are on the chopping block.

Undoubtedly, the various political parties will adopt various stances on policy issues. What is lacking from Bill 47 is any semblance of balance. Rather than use a scalpel to excise those aspects causing “the most concern,” the government used a fish-hook to gut the bill almost entirely. What little is left provides fewer benefits to workers.

But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Bill 47 was the manner in which the Conservatives greeted its introduction in the legislature: standing and clapping while proposing to repeal basic protections for the most vulnerable workers.

Such displays transform the slogan of a government “for the people” into Orwellian doublespeak.

Read The Conversation full story

By Muriel Draaisma

'Decent work is an education issue,' union leader tells reporters at Queen's Park

An Ontario government bill that aims to roll back labour reforms would make life more difficult for precariously-employed university and college students, staff and faculty, says an NDP MPP.

Chris Glover, A Toronto MPP who serves as the Official Opposition's universities critic, urged the provincial government to immediately withdraw Bill 47 on Monday.

The bill, dubbed the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, would repeal a planned minimum wage hike to $15 — an increase set to happen in January 2019 — while cancelling two guaranteed paid sick days for all Ontario workers. The Progressive Conservative plan has already passed first reading and is likely to be approved due to the government's majority.

"The students in our colleges and universities in Ontario, already faced with the highest tuition fees and highest debt levels, are potentially facing much higher costs for going to school," Glover told reporters at a Queen's Park news conference.

According to Statistics Canada, undergraduate students in Ontario paid more than $8,000 in tuition fees, the highest average in the country, as of the 2016/2017 academic year.

Other speakers said the bill will add to the financial insecurity facing college and university staff and faculty, many of whom work contract-to-contract with no health benefits or pensions.

According to Glover, more than half of university faculty members and more than 75 per cent of college faculty members are part-time, temporary contract workers.

Glover called the bill an attack on their rights.

Previous gains to be lost, union reps say

RM Kennedy, chair of the college faculty division at Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents more than 40,000 faculty and staff at colleges, agreed, saying: "Decent work is an education issue."

Labour reforms introduced by the Liberal government, under 2017's Bill 148, were "a good start," Kennedy said. 

"For part-time support staff, many of whom are also students, paid sick days and a livable wage are needed to make ends meet," he said. "For contract college faculty, the equal pay raises that were achieved with Bill 148 have been life-altering."

These gains will be lost with the new legislation, he added.

"Students go to school so they can get good jobs, but the vast majority of faculty teaching them, ironically, do not have good jobs," he said.

"Thousands of Ontario college workers are looking at cuts to the improved wages, which they have only had a few months to experience."

The bill is "a step in the wrong direction," according to Kimberly Ellis-Hale, chair of the contract faculty committee of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, which represents 17,000 professors and academic librarians at 29 faculty associations. 

Ellis-Hale said she has been working on 12-week contracts for most of the last 21 years. She said most contract faculty do not have desks to call their own, health benefits or pensions, or job security. Living contract to contract is extremely stressful, she added.

"We should be making progress in addressing fairness for contract faculty, not rolling back reasonable and essential elements to improve workers' rights," she said.

"If the premier is really here for the people, the hard-working, front-line people, and is truly committed to helping people like me make ends meet, then he should withdraw Bill 47." 

Bill to weaken learning conditions, grad student says

Hamish Russell, an international graduate student at the University of Toronto and a member of Canadian Union of Public Employees, told the news conference that post-secondary students and workers juggle many jobs, high rents and demanding course loads.

The bill will not only erode working conditions, it will also weaken learning conditions, he said.

Read the CBC News full story

By Taylor Campbell

Hands off our decent work laws.

That was the message nine workers’ rights advocates had for Ontario Premier Doug Ford at a rally in Windsor Friday.

A new workplace standards bill, Bill 47, introduced at Queen’s Park in October, promises to repeal the majority of worker protections implemented in January by the previous Liberal government through Bill 148.

“What would be adequate is to leave the legislation as it is and then review it for improvements,” said Mario Spagnuolo, organizer of the local “$15 and Fairness” group.

The province-wide organization was created in 2013 to pressure the Ontario government to increase minimum wage and bring workers above the poverty line. Members of $15 and Fairness want to see provincial minimum wage rise to $15, something that was supposed to happen in January under Bill 148.

Bill 47 is regressive, Spagnuolo said. He and the members of his group, many of them union representatives, gathered near the Windsor Chamber of Commerce to raise awareness.

“We believe the Ford government is trying to ram through this legislation without proper consultation,” said Spagnuolo. “It’s regressive in nature, and what we want to see is some progress when it comes to the minimum standards and employment standards in Ontario.”

Under Bill 47, minimum wage would remain at $14 per hour instead of increasing to $15 per hour January 2019. Annual minimum wage adjustments would be tied to inflation, and would start in October of 2020. Employees would no longer be entitled to the two paid days of personal emergency leave each year granted by Bill 148. Employers would be allowed to pay part-time and full-time employees different wages for equal work, which had been prohibited under Bill 148.

“This is going to bring us back a few years instead of forward,” said Spagnuolo, who raised his group’s concerns at the constituency office of  MPP Rick Nicholls (C. —Chatham-Kent-Essex) before the rally Friday.

“We wanted for him to hear some of our concerns and bring them back to the caucus.”

Read the Windsor Star full story

By Mark Brown

A group of union members from Windsor-Essex are putting the Ontario government on notice concerning a proposed rollback of the minimum wage.

The group, known as Fight For $15 and Fairness, held a demonstration on Dougall Avenue in Windsor on Friday afternoon, not far from the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce. The group is are hoping to call attention to the effort by Ontario’s PC-majority government to repeal the plan to raise the minimum wage in Ontario from $14 per hour to $15 on January 1.

The legislation, known as Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, would if passed roll back the planned minimum wage increase, keeping it at $14 per hour, and instead tie increases through 2020 with inflation. The minimum wage increase was part of Bill 148, which was passed by the previous Liberal-controlled legislature.

Mario Spagnuolo, who organized the demonstration, said that the proposed minimum wage rollback is not the only concern they have.

“One of the concerns is the cut to paid sick days that are available through the legislation, and also the requirement for employees to have to get a doctor’s note if they take one day off sick for cold or flu,” said Spagnuolo.

The law that is currently in place says employers cannot ask for a doctor’s note when they access their ten days of emergency leave currently under the law. Spagnuolo said it would be better if the Ford government left the legislation alone and allowed for more public consultation on it.

“We believe that we need more thorough discussion on this and we want the public to be aware that this is going to bring us back a few years,” said Spagnuolo.

The Ford government says Bill 47 will help make Ontario more friendly for job creation by cutting red tape, and replacing regulations that they consider outdated and burdensome.

For complete information on Fight For $15 and Fairness, visit their official website.

Read the Blackburn News full story

Community pressure is working. We just learned that the dangerous legislation that seeks to rollback our new workers' rights, Bill 47, will be sent to Committee for further review.

Unlike other regressive bills that the Ford government rammed through without committee hearings, they can't get away with doing so now with Bill 47. This is thanks to you and thousands of others, who have been mobilizing in every corner of Ontario on a daily basis. But we can't stop now.

Click here to join an upcoming event
or scroll below

Our communities are outraged that Premier Ford is defending Bill 47, which puts the health and lives of Ontarians at risk. It is shameful that this government wants to take away 2 meagre paid sick days from workers, reduce access to unpaid emergency leave, lower penalties for employers who break the law, and force low-wage workers into poverty.

What can you do?

Right now, every day counts. Help us expose the consequences of Bill 47. Watch and share this new video to remind everyone why a $15 minimum wage is a way better deal for the lowest paid workers of Ontario, than Ford's proposed tax cut. The $15 minimum wage scheduled for January 2019 will put almost $2,000 in workers' pocket, while the most people might get from a tax cut is $800. But even that's a stretch since most people making minimum wage earn so little, they already get all their taxes back. 

click here to watch on Facebook - click here to watch on Twitter

Remember, Bill 47 will impose a real dollar cut in the minimum wage and delay $15 at least until 2025. This together with canceling equal pay for equal work for part-time and temp agency workers, will lead to the growth of short-time, precarious jobs with no benefits. Click here to read our backgrounder on Bill 47 and learn more.

Visit your local MPP

The coming week, November 5th to 9th is "Constituency Week" - a time when the Ontario Legislative Assembly does not meet and MPPs spend time in their ridings, with their constituents. It's a great time to drop by and make your voice heard!

Please take 10 minutes to drop by the office of your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) with a message to let them know you expect them to vote against Bill 47. In fact, you can download and print this paper card, sign it and deliver it to your MPP. Click here to find your MPP. 

If you are able to secure a meeting with your MPP, you can download this "Pledge Placard". It's basically a large scale survey to make your MPP's position on Bill 47 visible for all to see, including local media if you're at an event where the media is expected. This survey is designed to be printed on 11" x 17" papers (tabloid size). Bring a large felt pen to add the name of your MPP and check off the box that applies when you ask them to vote against Bill 47. Be sure to take a picture with your completed "Pledge Placard."

To access more resources - including leaflets, factsheets, "Hands off posters" with the name of your MPP -- click here.

Ask to make a deputation to the Committee reviewing Bill 47

Labour Minister Laurie Scott has been saying that Bill 47 came out of a 4-month consultation process. But we ask: consultation with whom? It seems like the only views they're interested in, comes from corporate lobbyists. We need your help to make sure the voices of workers, health providers, students, people of faith, faculty, community leaders, and others come through loud and clear. 

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs will hold the hearings that are expected to last for a mere 5 hours on November 15. We need to flood the Committee with requests to make presentations. If you are a person who will be losing your paid sick days, equal pay, fairer scheduling rules, and/or higher wages, we encourage you to make a deputation to the Standing Committee. If you know someone who is affected by Bill 47, you should also ask to depute. Contact the Committee Clerk via email: [email protected] or by phone: 416-325-3526 to request a chance to speak to the Committee. Please call or email right now. We can be sure the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is already mobilizing to stack the committee with big business voices, so please act now.

Join an upcoming action.

Join us at an upcoming action to tell the government:#WithdrawBill147! Let's demand every MPP to vote against the bill. More events are coming online every day. Visit the campaign website to see the most up-to-date listing. 

Friday, November 2^nd

WINDSOR
Rally at the Chamber of Commerce 
Friday, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM - 2575 Ouellette Place 
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Saturday, November 3^rd

SAULT STE MARIE
Bill 47 Emergency Planning Meeting 
Saturday, 11:00AM to 12:00PM – 415 Pim Street
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Monday, November 5^th

HAMILTON 
Fight for $15 Action Plan Meeting
Monday, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM – ATU Local 107 Hall, 1005 King St East
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

TORONTO
Fight for $15 Activist Mondays
Monday, 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM – 720 Spadina Ave Unit 223
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Letter Writing Party in York-South Weston
Monday, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM – Weston Village Seniors Centre, 8 John Street
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Tuesday, November 6^th 

BRANTFORD
Brantford Organizing Meeting
Tuesday, 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM - Revolution Coffee, 18 Market St
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

TORONTO
Toronto Wide Organizing Meeting
Tuesday,  5:30 PM to 8:30 PM – 720 Spadina Avenue Unit 223
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Wednesday, November 7^th

AJAX
Ajax $15 and Fairness Go station leafleting
Wednesday, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM – Ajax GO Station, 100 Westney Rd S
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

KINGSTON
Decent Work under Ford: A Panel Discussion
Wednesday, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, B201 Mackintosh-Corry Hall, 68 University Ave
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

TORONTO
Emergency Phonebanking for $15 and Fairness
Wednesday, 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM – 720 Spadina Ave Unit 223
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Friday, November 9^th 

TORONTO
Student Rally for $15 and Fairness
Friday, 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM – Intersection of Yonge and Bloor
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Saturday, November 10^th

AJAX
Ajax $15 and Fairness Bill 47 Response
Friday, 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM – Outside Starbucks by 90 Kingston Rd E 
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

Monday, November 19^th 

TORONTO
Getting to Work: Organizing against Climate and Labour Precarity Panel
Monday, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM – 720 Spadina Ave Unit 223
Please RSVP or share on Facebook

The Trudeau government is poised to give federally regulated workers more paid personal-leave days just as the Ford government is scrapping Bill 148, which takes away two paid sick days and a minimum wage hike to $15.

Watch the City News full story

Fight for $15 and Fairness protested the provincial government’s moves to scrap labour reforms outside the Ontario Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

Watch the City News full story

By Chris Dawson

'If Victor Fedeli will not protect the rights of workers, then who will?'

More than 30 protestors gathered outside the Chamber of Commerce in downtown North Bay late Tuesday afternoon.

It’s the second of a handful of protests that have been coordinated by the group Nipissing Decent Work, which is protesting the province’s proposed Bill 47, which is set to repeal a large part of Bill 148, which was passed into law just under a year ago by the former provincial Liberal government.  

Bill 47 would freeze the minimum wage at $14 per hour along with eliminating two paid sick days.    

The group which held a similar event last week along the bypass, chose to move to the front of the local chamber due to its recent support for Bill 47, which has been posted on the chamber website.   

“We know the chamber of commerce’s across Ontario do great things for communities but right now they are on the wrong side of the political economy,” stated event organizer Jared Hunt.   

“They are getting it wrong and we are here to say to everybody that  the information they are spreading is not correct.”

Hunt has also targeted MPP Vic Fedeli for his support for the Bill 47.

“If Victor Fedeli will not protect the rights of workers, then who will,” stated organizer Jared Hunt.

“Why is he siding with the lies and misinformation of Doug Ford and the Chambers of Commerce, when we know the job numbers in Ontario are promising, even with the $14 as minimum wage?” 

Fedeli, replied to the protest through a series of tweets on Tuesday evening.

“Critics are also saying that the Act, ‘doesn’t let families invest in the lives of their children.’ The opposite is true. Nourishing a minimum wage economy is a failed policy that gives up on our young people and apprentices,” Fedeli stated through his Twitter feed.

Hunt says the protests are all about timing.

“Bill 47 is still getting debated so this is important, we want to send that message but these crowds are getting bigger,” stated Hunt. 

“We are getting more skills, we are learning more tools to organize and to be people power so this is also about that.”

Read the Bay Today full story

By Peter Biesterfeld

Open for business? The Ford government and their big-business lobbies blame the introduction of a $14 minimum wage for the loss of 90,000 jobs in Ontario, but that's not what the real economic numbers show

Since Doug Ford made his campaign threat to dismantle Liberal labour reforms (Bill 148), there have been almost daily rallies and social media campaigns as part of a province-wide resistance movement on precarious employment.

Last week, Ford followed through on his warning, killing plans for a $1 increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, among other measures, in the name of “efficiencies.” The Bill also introduced changes to vacation entitlements, paid sick days and equal pay rules.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), Retail Council of Canada, Food and Beverage Ontario and temp agency lobby group ACSESS (Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services) have all been calling for the Ford government to quash the bill.

“We have been persistently urging the government to take immediate action and repeal Bill 148 due to the compounding labour reforms, which come at too high a cost to the economy and workers,” reads an OCC press release that was regurgitated verbatim in the legislature by Economic Development Minister Jim Wilson.

On October 3, OCC head Rocco Rossi went further. He told CBC Metro Morning that Ontario lost 90,000 jobs since changes under Bill 148, including a $14 minimum wage, were introduced. 

Labour minister Laurie Scott made the same claims in an op-ed in the National Post in September – “our province’s largest monthly job loss in a decade. Every single one of those lost jobs was a part-time job.

“Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government chose to put the burden of an abrupt and dramatic increase on the back of our small businesses,” Scott wrote.

Yet Statistics Canada figures show that employment in Ontario’s service sector grew by 1.3 per cent at a slightly higher rate than the national average of 1.2 per cent over the last 12 months. 

“This means that the total number of hours worked grew at nearly double the rate,” reports Canadian labour news website rankandfile.ca. “This is the exact opposite of what the Chamber of Commerce is claiming is happening.” 

Rankandfile.ca has called out the Ford government and big-business lobbies for “repeatedly twisting the facts on job numbers to attack the minimum wage.”

The claim is backed by Scotiabank, which stated in its February economic review that “there is no discernible evidence of a minimum-wage impact on hours worked in Ontario. Employment losses in the province in January were not concentrated in ‘minimum-wage’ industries.” 

Similarly, the National Bank of Canada’s August survey of employment, payrolls and hours found that “employment in the country’s largest province is rising at the fastest pace in years, faster than the national average.” 

A Globe and Mail opinion piece authored by four research economists from universities across the country points out that in three states and dozens of U.S. cities that have adapted “living wage” policies, “there is no credible evidence that this clear trend in labour policy is hurting job creation.”

Gilleen Pearce, a small business owner and coordinator with Better Way Alliance, a network of employers that support a living wage, says the Ford government is misrepresenting the business community’s views on Bill 148. 

Most Ontario businesses support a $15 minimum wage or higher, she says, “For the simple reason that either they were already paying more or they understand that you get and keep better employees if you pay better.” 

Bill 148 was a rewrite of outdated Ontario labour legislation, which came under scrutiny after years of grassroots pressure for a living wage culminated in the province-wide $14 Now campaign in 2013. 

After two years of public consultations, special advisors leading “the largest review of Ontario’s labour laws conducted in decades” concluded in the 400-page Changing Workplaces Review report “that there are too many people in too many workplaces who do not receive their basic rights.” 

Researchers found “substantial non-compliance” with basic labour standards, including failing to pay wages on time or not paying overtime. Recommendations included comprehensive amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act and Labour Relations Act. Kathleen Wynne’s newly elected government responded with Bill 148. 

“We campaigned for much more comprehensive change,” says Pam Frache, who works out of the Workers’ Action Centre, “a union for non-union workers” on Spadina. “But we were very happy with the recommendations that were made.” 

Frache says that for business lobbies to now say there has been no input and that Bill 148 is “too much too soon” is disingenuous. 

“The business community was well represented in two rounds of consultations. In fact, some of the changes that were made to what we we’re putting forward were modified by the business community.” 

Frache says that during the review, many progressive businesses across the province spoke out. “These are employers who really believe that paying decent wages, treating workers with respect and dignity on the job is actually key to their success.”

A 2016 Ryerson University study found temporary and on-call agency employees reported “a collective sense of unpredictability, lack of control over one’s schedule and inability to plan that permeated participants’ work and family lives.” 

The study, A Public Health Crisis In The Making: The Health Impacts Of Precarious Work On Racialized Refugee And Immigrant Women, reported that “many participants had weekly incomes that added up to much less than the hourly minimum wage if averaged over the week.” And that “participants lived in constant fear of not getting enough hours of work. Participants said they could not afford to fall sick because it would mean lost wages. Many said that if they were sick for more than a couple of days, they were quite likely to lose their job.” 

“It’s a health issue,” says Frache. “All the evidence shows that.” Try telling it the Ford government. 

Read the NOW Toronto full story

By Emma Paling

Without paid sick days, sick people will go to work and infect others, Dr. Danyaal Raza said

Jill Promoli wonders if her son would still be alive if another child stayed home from school.

Promoli's two-year-old Jude — named for The Beatles song — got a fever in May 2016 after his older sister picked up a bug at her kindergarten class.

He was dead within a day. It was influenza B.

"When people are sick, they need to stay home," she said at a press conference at Queen's Park on Tuesday.

The Mississauga, Ont. mom was in Toronto to criticize the Ontario government's new labour legislation with workers' advocacy group Fight for $15 and Fairness.

Progressive Conservatives announced last week that they'd repeal parts of a Liberal-era labour bill. Their new legislation, Bill 47, will take away two guaranteed paid sick days a year and let employers demand a doctor's note for absences. It also strips temporary and part-time workers of the right to be paid the same as their full-time counterparts.

"It's not just a labour issue. It's a public health issue," Promoli said.

'A massive step backwards'

If the law passes, more people will be spreading flus and colds at school, at work and in public, a family physician said at the press conference.

"Bill 47 is a massive step backwards for health care in Ontario," Dr. Danyaal Raza said.

Patients will get others sick when they take the bus to the doctor, or go into work because they can't afford to lose a day's pay, he said.

There will also be long-term consequences for public health. Research shows that without paid sick days, employees get fewer flu shots, fewer mammograms, fewer pap smears and fewer blood pressure checks, Raza said.

Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott have promised to end what they call "hallway health care," or the practice of treating patients in hallways because there aren't enough hospital rooms.

This bill will do the opposite, Raza said.

Doctors will have less time to treat ill patients when they're busy writing sick notes so that workers with common colds don't get fired, he said.

"It's absurd. It's such a waste of time and such a waste of resources."

The health minister's press secretary refused questions on Bill 47 because it's a labour bill. A spokeswoman for Labour Minister Laurie Scott said that requiring doctors' notes is an "attendance management tool" for employers.

The move will make it harder for employees to abuse their three unpaid sick days, Christine Bujold said in an email.

Fight for $15 and Fairness has recommended that everyone be given seven paid sick days a year. The two paid days legislated by former premier Kathleen Wynne's government was far from enough, Raza said.

"We're not being particularly innovative here," he said. "We're just trying to catch up and do the bare minimum."

Read the Huff Post full story

By Sheila Wang

Residents call for Ontario to keep $15 minimum wage and workers protection laws

The message was loud and clear: “Hands off workers’ rights.”

Demonstrators gathered in front of the office building of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill PC MPP Michael Parsa’s office Monday evening to call for the province to reverse its recent decision of freezing minimum wage and cutting paid sick days.

It was part of the provincial movement of Fight $15 and Fairness - a prominent provincewide labour rights advocacy group – that has strongly opposed Ontario’s sweeping labour reform bill.

The rally in Richmond Hill was only a start, McLean said, noting that they were going to rally at all MPPs’ office around York Region to have their voices heard.

McLean said they chose Parsa’s office first because of his important role as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, which “should put him in a position to understand the true benefits of a $15/hr minimum wage.”

On Oct. 23, the Ontario government tabled Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act that would repeal much of the changes made by the previous government under Bill 148, which was set to start January 2019.

The main amendments include freezing minimum wage at $14 until 2020 and cuts to paid sick days.

“They say that this government is for the people. Well, explain to me how they’re for me,” said Christine Ilot, a 45-year-old Richmond Hill resident who co-organized the event on Monday.

No one knows better what it is like to work on minimum wage than Ilot, who works three different part-time jobs, all paying minimum wages.

“Just making sure our messages are getting across and clear because most of these MPPs have refused to meet with us personally,” said Jessa McLean, leader of the movement’s York Region chapter.

“It’s crazy. It’s really hard,” Ilot said.

She said she still had to ask her mother for help to pay her rent in the summer when her shifts get cut short.

Even $15 per hour would not be a living wage in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), she said, but it could be a start.

Expectedly, MPP Parsa did not attend the rally, but Ilot said she would love to meet him in person and ask for an explanation.

“I would love to have him explain to my face why they stood up and applauded this new bill. To me, it’s just faulted.”

The demonstrators have gone to Aurora and Newmarket earlier in October and are planning to set up meetings with MPPs around York Region in the coming weeks, McLean said.

Read the York Region full story