March 21st Weekly Update

Working for Workers

The Ontario government is introducing changes to continue leading the country in providing ground-breaking protections for workers. These proposed changes expand on the ground-breaking actions in the Working for Workers Acts, 2021 and 2022, which are already helping millions of people in Ontario.

The Ontario government has introduced the Working for Workers Act, 2023, that would, if passed:

• Make Ontario’s job-protected leave for military reservists the most flexible and comprehensive in all of Canada. 
• Increase the maximum fine that may be imposed on a corporation convicted of an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) from $1.5 million to $2 million. This would give Ontario the highest maximum corporate fines under workplace health and safety legislation in Canada.
• Give greater certainty to employees starting a new job by proposing regulatory changes to require employers provide employees with information about their job, such as pay, work location and hours of work, and the date by which that information needs to be provided (e.g., before their first shift).

• Include employees who work solely from home in the count for mass termination provisions to ensure that remote employees receive the same eight-week minimum notice of termination or pay-in-lieu as their in-office colleagues.
• Strengthen protections for temporary foreign workers by establishing the highest maximum fines in Canada for employers and people who are convicted of taking possession of or retaining a foreign national’s passport or work permit.

The government is also proposing to remove barriers for women in the construction sector by introducing new regulatory amendments that will make the skilled trades more accessible to women by ensuring they have access to at least one women’s-only washroom on job sites and properly fitting equipment such as uniforms, boots and safety harnesses. More information on the Working for Workers Act, 2023 can be accessed by clicking this link.

In April 2021, Minister McNaughton called on the federal government to double the number of immigrants allowed under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) to help tackle the labour shortage. Ontario reached its allocation of 9,750 immigrants through the OINP in 2022, including 3,900 skilled trades workers, 2,200 software and IT workers, and nearly 100 nurses and personal support workers.

“As we remain focused on addressing the acute labour market shortages and building a strong economy into the future, one thing remains certain: immigration is a key part of the solution,” said Sean Fraser, Federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. “As Canada’s flagship regional economic immigration program, the Provincial Nominee Program’s increasing growth will support the long-term well-being of communities in Ontario. I am grateful for the outstanding working relationship I have with Minister McNaughton and look forward to continuing to work with the province to achieve our shared economic immigration objectives.”

To further attract the skilled workers Ontario needs the most and ensure they can start working in their professions sooner, the province was the first in Canada to remove discriminatory barriers that prevent foreign-trained professionals from continuing their careers in sectors they trained in, such as engineering, law, accounting and skilled trades.

The Ontario government is providing up to $1.25 billion to long-term care homes this year to hire and retain thousands more long-term care staff across the province, to continue increasing the amount of direct care time provided to residents. This is part of the government’s historic four-year, $4.9 billion commitment to hire and retain more than 27,000 registered nurses, registered practical nurses and personal support workers over four years and ensure residents receive, on average, four hours of direct care per day by March 31, 2025.

“In 2018, we inherited a broken long-term care system and status quo that was no longer working so we introduced a historic plan to fix long-term care,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Long-Term Care. “With the largest investment in long-term care in Ontario’s history, we’re hiring more staff to increase daily direct care for residents to ensure they can continue to connect to the care they need in the comfort of their long-term care home.”

This is the third and largest annual funding increase to date that long-term care homes are receiving to reach the system-level average direct care targets set out in the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021. Direct care is hands-on care that includes personal care, such as help with dining, bathing and dressing, as well as other important tasks such as helping residents move and providing medication.

As a result of the government’s ambitious plan, more people are working in long-term care than ever before. This year’s funding will help achieve targets of an average of three hours and 42 minutes of daily direct care for residents as well as increasing hours of care from allied health professionals such as resident support aides, physiotherapists and social workers to 36 minutes per resident, per day.