"Christmas comes early for father with record who turned to Kijiji in job hunt"/ "If you receive kindness, remember to also give some in return"

Dec. 16, 2016 "Christmas comes early for father with record who turned to Kijiji in job hunt":

It started with a simple headline on a Kijiji ad — “Father looking for work.”

Steve Norman, 37, was at wit’s end last week after an almost year-long job search. The ad outlined his experience in hospitality and general labour, as well as forklift certification and paperwork as an asbestos abatement worker. There was one catch. Norman has a criminal record.

“I’m going to be honest right off the hop (sic),” he wrote, noting he served time “for armed robbery because of a drug addiction that got the better of me.”

It didn’t stop there.

“I almost lost my family once, and I feel like I’m about to lose them again because I can’t put food on the table,” he wrote. “I’m hoping to find that there are still some good people out there that understand that some people make mistakes, but also learn from them.”

Posted Dec. 7, the ad had more than 47,000 visits by the end of the weekend. Someone unknown to Norman posted an image of the ad on Facebook. It had countless shares and comments.

“I had 100 responses in the first day, and it kept going off from there,” said Norman.

His email filled up, and the phone started to ring.

Norman’s ad was a last-ditch effort, and his honesty about his family — he’s married and has four children under the age of 16 — and including his record was an effort to be up front and avoid the background check question that seemed to become a deal breaker.

“If somebody calls me, (now) they know what I am about, and if they move on, that’s fine,” he said.

In 2010, Norman said he was struggling with cocaine addiction and was arrested for robbery with a weapon in Peterborough. He spent 40 months at the Joyceville Institution in Kingston and 20 months in a federal halfway house.

He completed his Grade 12 education and participated in drug rehabilitation and anger management programs, as well as skilled labour training.

The training was valuable but Norman felt his work at Corcan — a program with Correctional Service of Canada — stuck out like a sore thumb on his resumé.

While it may seem tempting to lie about having a conviction, Jon Hedderwick, an employment counsellor with Employment, Planning & Counselling in Peterborough advises against it and instead suggests that you “know what you are going to say.”

“It depends on what they’ve done since the criminal record, what they’ve done to prepare to return to work since coming back out from jail and where they see themselves fitting into the labour market,” he said.

Christmas comes early for father with record who turned to Kijiji in job hunt

Dec. 24, 2021 "David Rosenberg: If you receive kindness, remember to also give some in return": Today I found this article by David Rosenberg in the Financial Post.  This is a heartwarming story:

David Rosenberg shares a profoundly personal story about an act of kindness that has affected him to this day

This was a rough year for everything outside the equity market and I say good riddance to 2021 just as I did to 2020 a year ago this time. But it must be said that at least we have vaccines, boosters and treatment, and there is hope now that the pandemic will finally transition to an endemic. 

I keep saying that in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic The Great Gatsby, there was not one reference to the 1918-19 Spanish Flu in its 152 pages. We’ll get through this.

The pandemic has sharpened our focus on what’s important. That much is obvious. And on how precious life is and remembering the close friends and family members we lost. 

It is memory, after all, that separates us from animals (not the only thing). I lost a friend and a mentor this past year, a dear family friend who I have known since I was 12 years old. His name was Rabbi Reuven Bulka, and if you Google his name, you will see that he was a tour de force . A huge influence on me and if you spend just a bit of time looking at his numerous interviews on YouTube or reading one of his many influential books, you will have wished you had met him in your lifetime. Sadly, he died of cancer last summer.

Rabbi Bulka preached kindness. At all times, not just this time of year. That he had a PhD in psychology gave him an edge in knowing the societal benefits of being kind at all times. And Rabbi Bulka practiced what he preached.

So, I want to talk about kindness, and I want to share with you a profoundly personal story about an act of kindness that has affected me to this day.

It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly 11 ‎years since my mother passed away. It was back in March 2011. The shiva was at my parents’ condo north of Toronto. We had many family members come for the week from out of town (and out of the country) for the funeral and the shiva. 

Of course, for those of you who have had any experience with mourning in the Jewish faith, you don’t sit shiva on Saturday (Shabbat).  It just so happens that on that particular Saturday, it was my middle son’s 16th birthday. (Jacob, who many of you have already gotten to know as my client service representative and the person who produces my webcasts, TV interviews, etc.) My wife, Rachael, said to me, “I know how much you loved your mom, and this is a rough week, so we don’t need to have a big birthday celebration.” To which I quickly said, “ No, a celebration is what we all need. ” 

I wanted to do something special. It’s the proverbial circle of life. Mom died on Tuesday; it was Jacob’s birthday on Saturday. And I know what my mother would have said, too: “Don’t skip a birthday party on my account!” The thing is, in deep winter when dusk comes early, I had to quickly think about what we could do before those first three stars show up in the sky on a Saturday eve. For those who have studied theology or who claim some of their best friends are Jewish, you will know what I mean. And that’s because the shiva starts again once Shabbat (the sabbath) is over.

I called my friend who owns one of the top sushi establishments in Toronto. This was by far our favourite restaurant in the city and the kids caught their taste for sushi there. I recall once telling six-year-old Mikey as he ate salmon makis as if they were popcorn, “Sonny, do you realize you have $20 stuffed in your mouth right now?” We had our table and our favourite server, Sumi (she got to know us so well she would always have a cake waiting when we came for birthdays). Edo was and is a very special place, and not just for the great food. The service. The ambiance. The kindness.

Article content

And that takes me to the owner, Barry. Over the years, we had become friends and today, we have become very close friends.

I called him up: “Barry, I have a big ask. Mom died on Tuesday. Jacob’s birthday is Saturday. I have 15 people, siblings from Israel (plus my family here), and cousins and aunts from Winnipeg, and I want to have an early birthday dinner party at Edo. Because the shiva will start again around 6 p.m., I want to rent out the restaurant (Barry had a nice party room at the back) and I know that means you have to bring in the chefs early, we want Sumi to serve us and I want to pre-order the sushi (except for my dad who would eat herring and gefilte fish all day long, but raw fish? Forget it. He had the salmon teriyaki) and the wine. I am paying for the whole thing, including the extra time for all the staff, so add the tip to the bill and sometime close to 6 p.m., just have Sumi hand it to me.”

I made it clear this was a huge favour. Can you imagine opening a restaurant on a Saturday at 3 p.m. instead of the normal 5 p.m.? I made it clear, just so you know, this was all on my dime. You know where this is going, right?

“Done,” Barry said. “Show up a half-hour early with your dad and your brother Mel (who was in from Tel Aviv) and we’ll have a toast to your mom.” ‎We got there, me and Mel, dad inching ahead slowly on his walker (with Parkinson’s, but at that point still very much on the ball and he never, not once, complained about his condition), and Barry cracked open a Macallan 18 and we toasted mom. Surreal. And then everyone showed up. Barry made sure the party room was decked out, the wine on ice and the makis, sashimi, nigiri and hand rolls (and Dad’s cooked salmon) were pre-ordered and served with smiles and warmth from dear Sumi.

When it came time to pay up, and I’m paying attention to when the Shabbat is about to end so we can make the trek up to North Toronto, I motion to Sumi to bring me the bill. She comes with one of those leather file folders and hands it to me. No paper. No bill. Just 30 little wrapped Japanese candies. I motioned again to Sumi, and she came over and I said, “There’s no bill.” 

She replied, “Barry looked after it.” I said, “That wasn’t the deal, where is he? I need to talk to him. This wasn’t the agreement.” Sumi said, “He’s gone. Barry left two hours ago.” I blurted out, “This isn’t right,” and she quickly retorted, “you have no idea how much he wanted to do this for you. Please, just accept it as what it is. An expression of kindness.”

There’s that word again.

I will lay myself bare and tell you that I broke down and cried at that point. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, you can’t imagine. Mom dies and then we have Jacob’s birthday four days later, and then this gesture of extreme generosity that was unforgettable. I could hear one of my boys ask, “What’s the matter with Dad?” Rachael said, “Your father’s okay; Barry did something very kind for him.”

I tell this story a lot, but this is the first time ever in print. And when I do, the question I get back is, “ Can I meet Barry?” The look on everyone’s face when I get to the ending of how the candies fall out, no bill, and my reaction is always the same. Astonishment. And I’m not surprised at the question: who doesn’t want to meet someone who could provide such kindness? But as Barry — and Rabbi Bulka — would likely say: just make sure that as you receive the kindness, you also give some in return.

Happy holidays and here is to a kind (and COVID-19-free) 2022.

Financial Post

David Rosenberg is founder of independent research firm Rosenberg Research & Associates Inc. You can sign up for a free, one-month trial on Rosenberg’s website.

David Rosenberg: If you receive kindness, remember to also give some in return | Financial Post

All Comments

JANUARY 1, 2022

Thank you for sharing this heartwarming story.

1. 4 DAYS AGO

   Thank you.

1. 4 DAYS AGO

   Thanks, David.

   Beautiful story.
2. 4 DAYS AGO

   Thanks for sharing David. There's probably 1000's of stories of kindness like this happening every day that never see the light. It's so great you have a forum in which to share.

   I know a small not for profit right now where a single generous soul has offered to donate $1 for every $2 raised by this organization in the first 6 months of 2022. Just another kind soul --- doing their thing and showing kindness.
3. 5 DAYS AGO

   It's stuff like this that makes a profound impression on people, which gives truth to that old Axium " lead by example. " I remember as a kid when a close family friend who brought me, and her kids to a local fair, went out of her way to buy a homeless person a hamburger; that act of kindness stuck with me to this day. Then the other time when I woke up to this stranger in our house in which my mother serving breakfast to. Later she told that she met him at church, and he was down on his luck and waiting to get into a shelter, when she invited him to breakfast; yea, kindness, often breeds kindness.
4. 5 DAYS AGO

   Wow!!!! real nice story.........

3. DECEMBER 24, 2021

   Best column ever.

   Here's to 2022.

This week doesn't have a theme.  Here are the other 2 blog posts:

"Ontario to establish basic gig worker rights"/ "The gig economy is here to stay and Ontario is ahead of the curve in recognizing it"

Tracy's blog: "Ontario to establish basic gig worker rights"/ "The gig economy is here to stay and Ontario is ahead of the curve in recognizing it" (badcb.blogspot.com)

"Ontario court certifies class action against Uber that could see some workers recognized as employees"/ "Uber Eats launches new services, changes price structure for deliveries"

Tracy's blog: "Ontario court certifies class action against Uber that could see some workers recognized as employees"/ "Uber Eats launches new services, changes price structure for deliveries" (badcb.blogspot.com)

My week:

Nov. 28, 2022 "Dwayne Johnson Visits 7-Eleven He Used To Shoplift From And Clears His Conscience": Today I found this article by Josephine Harvey on Yahoo.  I like this because it's a story about righting wrongs and doing a good deed.  He bought the Snickers bars and put them in bag so customers get them for free:

Dwayne Johnson has finally cleared his guilty conscience.

The “Black Adam” star posted a video on Instagram over the weekend documenting a recent visit to a 7-Eleven convenience store in Hawaii. According to The Rock, he used to shoplift from the store as a teen.

“We were evicted from Hawaii in ’87, and after all these years ― I finally got back home to right this wrong,” the actor said. “I finally exorcised this damn chocolate demon that’s been gnawing at me for decades.”

Johnson said he used to steal a king-size Snickers bar from the store every day when he was 14. “The same clerk was there every day and always just turned her head and never busted me,” he wrote.

In the video, the star bought every Snickers bar in the shop and paid for the purchases of stunned customers, too.

“We can’t change the past and some of the dumb stuff we may have done, but every once in a while we can add a little redeeming grace note to that situation — and maybe put a big smile on some stranger’s faces,” he wrote.

Johnson, now one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, was 14 when his family was evicted from their one-bedroom apartment in Hawaii after his parents were unable to pay the rent.

“We were living in an efficiency [studio] that cost $120 a week,” Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014. “We come home, and there’s a padlock on the door and an eviction notice. My mom starts bawling. She just started crying and breaking down. ‘Where are we going to live? What are we going to do?’”

Johnson said that at around the age of 13, he started to “veer off the tracks” and turned to petty crime.

“I started getting arrested for fighting, theft, all kinds of stupid [stuff] that I shouldn’t have been doing,” he told The Sun last year.

It wasn’t until he was 18 that he began to channel his energy into bodybuilding, wrestling and NFL, ultimately leading to his pro wrestling and acting careers.

Dwayne Johnson Visits 7-Eleven He Used To Shoplift From And Clears His Conscience (yahoo.com)

Dec. 3, 2022 "This Deer Lake woman's savings vanished, leaving her with only unanswered questions": I found this on Yahoo and CBC:

A woman in western Newfoundland believes online thieves have taken most of her savings, after the money started to disappear from her account earlier this year.

Bernetta Serrick checked her account balance on a mobile banking app on a Friday in mid-August.

She says she was baffled to see her money had been going missing in large sums.

"I seen all these transactions, $5,000 here, $4,000-something here, going different places," she said.

She waited until her local Bank of Montreal branch opened the following Monday, and went in person to tell the staff what happened. Serrick says the teller witnessed another large sum of money being transferred away in real time as Serrick stood at the counter, helpless as she lost another $5,000.

"I said 'stop it, flag it, do whatever you need to do, just stop it,'" said Serrick.

All told, she says she lost about $20,000 over four global money transfers, all in the span of just four days.

Sarah Bradley is the CEO of Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, a company that works to resolve disputes between banks and their customers as an alternative to litigation.

Bradley said in order for the bank to be responsible for reimbursing Serrick, she needs to prove the bank did something wrong.

"It's often the case that consumers don't realize they have provided access to their accounts to a scammer," said Bradley.

Serrick recalls being prompted to change her password to access her mobile banking some weeks before the money disappeared, and wonders whether that could have been the moment her account was breached.

This Deer Lake woman's savings vanished, leaving her with only unanswered questions (yahoo.com)

My opinion: I do online banking on the desktop computer or my tablet.  Now after reading this, I will only do this on my desktop.

Serrick should transfer all her money to a new bank altogether.

Dec. 5, 2022 Cornerstone Counseling: I went to a career counseling session at Cornerstone Counseling.  If you have low- income, you can bring your two latest pay statements to prove your income.  You can talk to an Advanced Graduate Level Intern who usually has a Bachelor's degree and is studying to get a Master's in psychology.  They have clients and there will be 1 or 2 other registered psychologists will look over your file.

You can pay like $30 for a counselling session.  You can do virtual video session, phone session, or in -person.

Edmonton Counselling Services & Therapists | Cornerstone (cornerstonecounselling.com)

What Color is Your Parachute?: One of the interns I talked to told me about this book.  This then inspired me to research on this.

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2021: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success: Bolles, Richard N., Brooks EdD, Katharine: 9781984857866: Books - Amazon.ca

What Color Is Your Parachute: Flower Exercise | Shortform Books

This also reminds me of Jun. 2014 blog post.  I will write a new one.  Some things have stayed the same, but some things have changed. 

Help Tracy Get a Job/ Generation Boomerang

Tracy's blog: Help Tracy Get a Job/ Generation Boomerang (badcb.blogspot.com)

Zoom meeting: I tried to get on a Zoom meeting on my tablet, and I had to download an update.  However, I didn't have space.  I deleted some apps that I don't use, and then I was able to download the app.

I have been decluttering my physical space, but there's also the digital space.

Dec. 7, 2022 IGA grocery store: My mom was talking about if there is the IGA grocery store is still around.

There's only 1 location in Edmonton:

IGA - Opening Hours - 9106 142nd Street NW, Edmonton, AB (yellowpages.ca)

On Wikipedia: 

In Canada (apart from British Columbia), IGA is a group of independent grocers supplied by Sobeys, which franchises the name. Acquired by Sobeys as part of its purchase of the Oshawa Group Ltd., it now operates primarily in Quebec.

IGA (supermarkets) - Wikipedia

My opinion: IGA is not going out of business.  It's part of Sobeys.

Dec. 4, 2022 Post Secret:

On one side:

If you are needing a sign, this is it!

Use what's left of 2022 to light up your soul!

On the other side are a picture of poinsettias: "Christmas Greetings!"

"Ontario court certifies class action against Uber that could see some workers recognized as employees"/ "Uber Eats launches new services, changes price structure for deliveries"

Aug. 13, 2021 "Ontario court certifies class action against Uber that could see some workers recognized as employees": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps on CBC News:

Ontario's Superior Court of Justice has certified a class-action lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc., which advances a fight to get some of the platform's Canadian couriers and drivers recognized as employees.

The class action, certified by Justin Paul Perell in a decision released late Thursday afternoon, stems from a court filing made by Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and Uber Eats courier David Heller in 2017.

The law firm and the Ontario man's class action argues that Uber couriers should be entitled to 

minimum wage, 

vacation pay 

and other protections because they meet the definition of employees under Ontario's Employment Standards Act.

"Uber has complete control over these drivers, 

when they work, 

how they work,

what they get paid for the work that they do," said Samfiru Tumarkin lawyer Samara Belitzky, who works in the firm's Ottawa office.

"I could go on and on, but there are so many examples of how Uber has this control over these drivers, yet the drivers don't have the benefits and the protections that employees would normally have in situations, where the employer is in control."

Uber has long refused to recognize couriers and drivers using its platform as employees and instead likened them to independent contractors because they have the flexibility to drive or deliver as little or as much as they want.

The San Francisco-based technology giant has been fighting the Heller case since it was brought to court five years ago.

It succeeded in getting the case stayed in 2018 because it required all disputes it is involved in go through mediation in the Netherlands, where its business was once incorporated.

Uber's Canadian ride-hailing and food-delivery business has since shifted from being based in the Netherlands to Canada and in July started collecting sales tax that will be remitted to the government.

In 2019, the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the stay Uber obtained, so the company took its arguments to the Supreme Court of Canada, where it lost later that year.

Class action could have far-reaching consequences

Thursday's certification allows the class action to proceed through Canadian courts again, though Uber could appeal the case again on other grounds.

"We'll review the ruling more closely in the coming days," the company said in a statement.

"We remain focused on creating a better future for app-based workers that provides the

flexibility and independence they want, 

with the benefits and protections they deserve."

If the class action winds up with the drivers winning, Belitzky said it will be a "landmark decision."

"There's nothing like it in Canada. It will be a first for Canada for sure," she said.

"It will change the landscape of employment because a lot of these companies, including Uber, up until now have been able to get away with misclassifying their drivers, and so they essentially reap all the benefits now."

Uber skirting Canadian labour law, critics say

Uber has been pushing a labour model called Flexible Work+ in Canada in recent months.

The model it is proposing to provinces requires app-based gig employers to accrue self-directed benefit funds that can be dispersed to drivers for prescriptions, dental and vision care and provide safety training and tools such as reflective vests.

Uber says it is pursuing the model because an October survey of more than 600 Uber couriers and drivers in Canada showed 65 per cent favoured Flexible Work+. Roughly 16 per cent still like the current independent contractor model and 18 per cent wanted to be classified as employees with benefits.

However, many gig workers, labour groups and employment lawyers are fighting the proposal because they say it allows Uber to keep treating couriers and drivers unfairly and keeps them in a state of precarity.

Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske hailed the court ruling and said all workers should have workplace protections and benefits.

"For far too long, Uber has dictated the terms of workers' employment but hasn't been accountable for providing a minimum wage and vacation pay," she said in a release.

"Labour law — is the law — and it applies to all companies. Canada's unions support the decision to certify this class action and invite Uber drivers from coast-to-coast to unionize and collectively bargain their rights."

Ontario court certifies class action against Uber that could see some workers recognized as employees | CBC News

Feb. 14, 2022 "Uber Eats launches new services, changes price structure for deliveries": Today I found this article on BNN Bloomberg:

TORONTO -- Uber Technologies Inc. says it's launching three new offerings for its Uber Eats services that charge restaurants lower commissions than the company has previously.

The first of the offerings allows restaurants paying a 2.9 per cent commission to accept orders directly from their websites or social media accounts and have them fulfilled with delivery people on the Uber Eats platform.

The second offering lets diners browse, order, and pay for food on Uber Eats that they will eat at the restaurant, which is charged a three per cent commission.

The final offering introduces a pricing structure for deliveries, which carry commissions starting at 20 per cent.

The lowest tier of the pricing structure helps restaurants process and fulfil orders but charges customers standard delivery fees, while higher tiers slash those fees paid by diners and give restaurants more visibility on the Uber Eats app.

Restaurants have long complained Uber's 30 per cent commission for deliveries is too high and some were still disappointed when the company temporarily reduced its commission to 15 per cent for restaurants using their own delivery people during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uber Eats launches new services, changes price structure for deliveries - BNN Bloomberg

Dec. 7, 2022 My opinion: These articles remind me of this comment below.  The first article is to show that the company Uber needs to treat their employees fairly and equally.  

The second article is to show that Uber needs to treat the restaurants they work with fairly and equally.

"#MeToo movement becomes #WeToo in in victim-blaming Japan"/ "Outrage as women in Japan told not wear glasses in the workplace"

Aug. 17, 2020 Saying: I found this on Facebook:

"You never look good when you are trying to make someone else look bad."- Unknown

Cham: Sometimes people need to be exposed for who they are hahah or maybe I should stop being petty

Tracy Au: There's a difference between trying to make someone look bad, and exposing them for who they are. It's like those #MeToo accusers and victims, they are plainly telling everybody about the perpetrators. They're not trying to make them look bad.

Tracy's blog: "#MeToo movement becomes #WeToo in in victim-blaming Japan"/ "Outrage as women in Japan told not wear glasses in the workplace" (badcb.blogspot.com)

"Ontario to establish basic gig worker rights"/ "The gig economy is here to stay and Ontario is ahead of the curve in recognizing it"

Mar. 1, 2022 "Ontario to establish basic gig worker rights": Today I found this article by Holly McKenzie-Sutter on BNN Bloomberg news:

Ontario has introduced legislation that would establish employment standards for gig workers, including minimum wage and regular paydays, but critics fear the plan will leave digital app workers with fewer rights than those in other jobs.

The Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act will be separate from the Employment Standards Act.

It proposes to cover ride hailing and delivery drivers, as well as others who are offered work assignments through digital platforms.

"We've seen huge shifts around traditional labour markets, and as we build a resilient economy, our government must keep pace with those changes," Premier Doug Ford said at a Toronto announcement where he and Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced the details. 

The gig economy is a growing employment sector, Ford said, adding that the province is speaking with those workers "and understanding how we can create the environment to help them thrive."

In an interview before the announcement, McNaughton said the legislation will establish foundational rights for gig workers in a Canadian first, though he expects other provinces will follow Ontario's lead.

"No gig worker should make less than minimum wage," he said. 

"No gig worker should be fired without notice or explanation. And no one, period, should have to travel out of Canada to resolve a workplace dispute or sign a contract they don't understand. That's the essence of the changes we're making to fix these injustices that are happening."

Proposed rights within the bill, which was introduced Monday, include the guarantee that workers will get 

written information detailing how platforms' algorithms work, 

how pay is calculated, 

how operators’ performance rating systems work 

and how operators collect tips.

It would also establish 

a recurring pay period and a $15 minimum wage for active hours that's tied to the provincial minimum wage, 

while barring operators from withholding tips 

and prohibiting reprisal against workers for exercising their rights under the act. 

The proposed legislation would also require operators to give workers notice of and rationale for their removal from a platform if they are removed for more than 24 hours, and it would see digital platform work disputes resolved in Ontario.  

The bill won’t address the employment status of app-based gig workers – who are largely classified as contractors and not employees – but the province says it will give them employment rights. 

Deena Ladd, executive director of the Toronto-based Workers' Action Centre, said the proposed law is a "substandard set of rights," as it doesn't cover employment standards like overtime and holiday pay or emergency leave. 

"What they're proposing in this bill is actually really terrible for workers," she said in a telephone interview. "They are absolutely creating a category of workers that have less rights than regular workers."

Ladd said the proposed law could impact labour standards for other jobs. 

"Once you start saying that there is a group of workers that don't have the same rights as everybody else, then what is to stop other employers from saying, 'Well, why should I have to pay overtime? 

Why should I have to pay for public holiday pay and vacation pay ... if these employers like Uber Canada, like SkipTheDishes and all of these other big digital platform companies, if they don't have to pay for this?" she said. 

Opposition leaders also found the measures lacking. 

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said her party would be looking at the finer details but raised concerns over some apparent gaps in the minimum wage allowance, which wouldn't apply to time between assignments like rides or deliveries. 

"Every worker deserves to be protected by the labour laws in Ontario and there should be no exceptions," she said. 

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca called the announcement "an election ploy."

"We see the changes announced today as the bare minimum the government can do to help those in the gig economy and look forward to sharing a real plan with the release of our platform," he said in a written statement. 

Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Centre for Future Work in Vancouver, argued the Ontario government's plan wouldn't improve the income situation for gig workers.

Stanford pointed out on Twitter that couriers and delivery drivers spend much of their time on the job waiting for assignments – time that won’t count for minimum wage – meaning their wages will work out to less than $15 per hour. 

He also highlighted that workers for such apps pay their own expenses on their vehicles, phone and other work equipment.

"Make no mistake: This approach to regulating gig work will do absolutely nothing for gig workers," he wrote.

Establishing basic rights for gig workers was one of 21 recommendations put forward last year by a committee of experts tasked by the government with looking at labour market disruptions from the pandemic.

In its final report, the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee advised the province to establish basic rights for gig workers 

like minimum wage, 

benefits, 

pay stubs, 

regular wages 

and notice of termination with severance pay. 

Earlier this month, McNaughton said the Progressive Conservative government would look into developing a "portable benefits" plan that isn't tied to employers, like for gig workers who don't have health or dental coverage. 

An expert panel tasked with coming up with ideas for running that program is due to make recommendations this summer after the June election.

Ontario to establish basic gig worker rights - BNN Bloomberg

Mar. 11, 2022 "The gig economy is here to stay and Ontario is ahead of the curve in recognizing it": Today I found this article by Howard Levitt and Kathryn Marshall in the Financial Post:

Monte McNaughton is everywhere these days. Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development spent the early frantic days of the pandemic introducing emergency legislation to address COVID-19 and protect workers and employers. Barely catching his breath, he has since thrown himself into crafting and launching new laws to spearhead the future of work in the province.

Last week, he took a transformational step in that direction when he tabled the Digital Platform Worker’s Rights Act, which gives gig workers in the digital-platform space foundational employment rights. 

The Liberals talked a lot about gig workers as did the NDP, but it was the Tories who ultimately did something about it. (Full disclosure: Kathryn Marshall is a member of the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee, which recommended protections and rights for gig workers.)

The pandemic has highlighted how the nature of work is rapidly evolving away from traditional employment to a more flexible, freelance model.

Long gone are the days when it was common to stay put in one job for 30 years and retire with a generous pension. (Long gone are the days that there are even generous pensions other than for civil servants). People move around a lot more now, and many have numerous jobs at any given time.

With the explosion of remote work and advances in technology that allow people to work from just about anywhere, the gig economy has flourished. 

Gig work — meaning work that takes place on-demand or on a freelance basis, usually through a digital platform — is now ubiquitous. 

Uber is of course the most well-known of the digital platforms, but there are many other lower-profile companies working in this space, too.

As part of McNaughton’s new law, gig workers will be granted rights such as a $15 minimum wage for active hours and transparency as to how their pay is calculated and how the algorithms work. 

The bill also prohibits companies from reprising against workers for exercising their rights, a similar provision to that contained in the Employment Standards Act.

Finally, workers must be allowed to keep their tips, 

platforms will have to give workers advance notice if they are booting them from the platform 

and disputes must be resolved in Ontario instead of faraway places such as the Netherlands (a common provision in the lengthy and unreadable contracts that gig workers are often required to sign).

McNaughton also recently announced he will be exploring the introduction of a portable benefits plan for workers that isn’t tied to the employer. This will benefit gig workers who lack benefits.

These may all seem pretty basic, but the reality is that no other province or territory has done this yet. 

The gig economy has largely been an unregulated vacuum, creating uncertainty for not only the workers, but for the companies trying to operate in Canada.

The vacuum isn’t easy to fill. It requires creativity and thinking outside of the box. 

Our employment laws are based on a two-dimensional antiquated model of work: you are either a full-fledged employee in the traditional sense, entitled to all the rights that come with this status,

or you are an independent contractor, and thus not recognized under employment law. 

Of course, there are many workers who are erroneously called independent contractors when they are truly employees, and those cases have been the subject of much litigation.

But outside of the employee/independent contractor dichotomy, there are many workers who occupy a large space in-between. Those working in the gig economy are frequently not employees, but they are not true independent contractors either. 

While they have a high degree of flexibility, there is also a strong element of dependency: they rely on the digital platforms and those platforms have a significant level of control over the workers. 

In Ontario, the courts have long recognized a third category of worker called a dependent contractor and these workers have been granted reasonable notice period damages in wrongful dismissal cases.

While there has been some criticism that the Digital Platform Worker’s Rights Act doesn’t go far enough, the aim of the Act is to provide a floor, not a ceiling. 

It is a first step and certainly not the end. Gig work is unique and can’t be slotted neatly into an employee or independent contractor model and the government has rightly created a new framework that reflects this class of worker.

Time will tell how the gig economy evolves, but it is clearly here to stay. Its needs had to be addressed and now they have been — in Ontario, at least.

Got a question about employment law during COVID-19? Write to Howard at info@levittllp.com.

Howard Levitt is senior partner of Levitt Sheikh, employment and labour lawyers with offices in Toronto and Hamilton. He practices employment law in eight provinces. He is the author of six books including the Law of Dismissal in Canada. Kathryn Marshall is a partner at Levitt Sheikh.

Howard Levitt: The gig economy is here to stay and Ontario is ahead of the curve in recognizing it | Financial Post

1 DAY AGO

The Ontario proposed Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act seeks to bridge the distinction between contracts of services (employees) and contracts for services (independent contractors), notably in the gig economy.

Employees are legally protected in some ways that other workers are not. Employers must withhold and remit income tax, Employment Insurance (EI), and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions for employees.

An employment relationship at common law is traditionally featured by the employer’s right to control and direct the employee as how the work is to be performed. The courts have developed some tests to examine if an employment relationship exists, non-exhaustive: control test, ownership of tools, assumption of profit and loss, and integration test. The existing scheme appears to be inadequate in respect of the gig sector.

Uber drivers in the United Kingdom (UK) appealed their case (2015-2021) to the UK Supreme Court (UKSC). The drivers claimed to be employed workers rather than self-employed. As employees, the drivers would be entitled to minimum wage and other employment standards. The UKSC ruled that the drivers were Uber’s employees who were in a position of subordination to Uber, plus several other elements.

2 DAYS AGO

The article hits on an interesting position we find ourselves. It states "Our employment laws are based on a two-dimensional antiquated model of work: you are either a full-fledged employee in the traditional sense, entitled to all the rights that come with this status, or you are an independent contractor, and thus not recognized under employment law."

This is in fact a result of CRA and their need to have people fall into these two categories. So if the Provinces and the Fed's don't get aligned people are going to find themselves in a grey area when it comes to our beloved CRA.

Dec. 7, 2022 My opinion: I like the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act.  This is a good start for all these employees in Ontario.  Hopefully, there will be these kind of laws in other provinces.