Reforms mean fairness: Scott
Labour minister discusses Doug Ford government’s changes to labour laws
Labour Minister and HaliburtonKawartha-Lakes MPP Laurie Scott says the provincial government’s changes to labour legislation are designed to ensure fairness to all Ontario workers and businesses.
The Ontario government announced Tuesday that it will hold minimum wage at $14 an hour for the next two years and get rid of the current two paid sick days as it introduces new legislation to eliminate parts of Bill 148, which the Liberals introduced to modernize Ontario’s labour laws.
Bill 148 provided workers with up to 10 days off. Before the bill, 1.6 million Ontario workers did not have access to an unpaid, job-protected sick day because of an exemption on workplaces with less than 50 employees.
Under the proposed new Making Ontario Open for Business Act, workers will have up to three sick days, three personal and two bereavement days, all without pay. Scott said it ensures workers won’t need to fear losing their jobs for taking days off for any of those reasons.
The proposed new act will, if passed, enable more employers to boost job creation and investment by cutting unnecessary regulations that are inefficient, inflexible and out of date, according to a release from the provincial government.
Scott told Kawartha Lakes This Week she had many discussions in the riding about Bill 148 “before, during and after” last
June’s provincial election campaign.
“I took part in many roundtables in my riding with many [residents] and business owners, “she said, adding local business owners were struggling to deal with the changes under Bill 148.
“Some wanted to roll back the minimum wage. Others were forced to lay people off or close for part of the season. Some restaurants, for example, had to reduce hours they were open. There were job losses across the riding.”
While the minimum wage increase benefited workers, Bill 148 included another increase to $15 per hour in 2019, following the $14 rate that too effect at the start of the year. It was “too much, too fast” for small business owners to handle, she said.
“Businesses were dealing with an overall 21 per cent minimum wage increase in a year, which forced them to decrease staff levels and hours.”
Any future increases to the rate will be tied to the rate of inflation, Scott said.
Increased wages don’t benefit workers if people continue to face higher taxes and living costs, such as hydro and heating, she said.
“There has to be a balance between wages and higher living costs. Decreasing taxes, and heating and hydro costs, are the best way to make life more affordable.”
Scott noted the new Progressive Conservative government “got a clear mandate” from Ontario voters in the election.
“We are lightening the burden on businesses and making sure that hard work is rewarded, while proving to the world that Ontario is open for business,” Scott said.
“Businesses should have confidence in reasonable and predictable regulations. And everyone who works should have the confidence of a good job and a safe workplace.”
Scott noted she was also pleased to see the new act, if passed will also address the backlog in Ontario’s skilled trades by replacing the current outdated model with a one-to-one journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio for every trade for which ratios apply.
The legislation, if passed, will “modernize the apprenticeship system by initiating an orderly wind-down of the Ontario College of Trades, which remains a source of unnecessary and burdensome complexity for skilled trades employment in the province.”
“That’s something I’ve fought for 15 years, “Scott told Kawartha Lakes This Week. “Apprentice ratios are a huge part of our riding.”
The province will continue to systematically review Ontario’s stock of regulations, then streamline, modernize and, in some cases, eliminate unnecessarily complicated, outdated or duplicative regulations.
Current provisions for domestic and sexual violence leave will be maintained, which is a valuable protection for employees. The proposed reforms will also reduce the red-tape burden around scheduling, while updating the Labour Relations Act.