Anna Voskuil | News Editor
Featured Image: The Bill includes an action to repeal the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act. | Courtesy of Flickr
Last month, the Ontario government announced Bill 47, otherwise known as the Making Ontario Open for Business Act. Motions in the Bill include a freeze of the $14 minimum wage, the removal of two paid sick days, as well as a repeal of Bill 148, otherwise known as the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act.
Currently, the Bill is still being reviewed in a second reading.
The present administration claims the Bill is intended to uphold financial responsibility for the province, stating: “The OCC applauds the government for taking swift action to introduce many critical reforms that we have persistently advocated for on behalf of Ontario business.”
They claim that Bill 148 “implemented imbalanced labour reforms too quickly, at too high a cost to both employers and employees,” and that the repeal “will restore fairness and reduce a significant financial and administrative burden on business.”
Since its introduction, many groups across the province have advocated against the passing of the Bill.
Fight for $15 and Fairness – York U, a York branch of the Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign, is one such organization that has been vocal about their disdain for the Bill.
York University Graduates Students’ Association (YUGSA) President, PhD environmental sciences student, and Fight for $15 organizer, Alia Karim, mentions past “emergency rallies” that the group has organized.
“The day after the government announced Bill 47, we had a rally downtown. It was outside the Ministry of Labour, and then we marched to Queen’s Park. It included students, community groups, unions, and everyone who were concerned about everything introduced in Bill 47,” she says.
“I think we have made a positive impact over the years through one-on-one conversations with people, but also we helped organize and support food service workers when they went on strike in 2017,” she adds.
“They won a $15 starting wage and better benefits; it was a really victorious strike that was one of the big moments that we had on campus.”
Further, Karim expresses her concern for the ways she sees the Bill potentially negatively impacting employees—in particular, contract faculty—here at York.
“Working conditions affect learning conditions. There are people we know who are working multiple courses on different campuses, so it takes a lot of time out of their day just to get to different campuses to teach.
“When you’re working so many courses just to get by, it’s really hard to cater to all these students.”
With the introduction of Bill 47, much discussion has already been circulating among the York community.
Karim expresses: “It’s really important for us to stand up for our rights. So we’re just going to keep fighting.”
Fight for $15 and YUGSA will be hosting a booth in York Lanes on November 15 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
