Kitchener, Ont. grocer pushing Ontario lawmakers to strengthen employee protections
Ontario lawmakers are looking to close the loopholes allowing some employers to take advantage of their workers.
Over the next two weeks they’ll propose amendments to Bill 190, also known as Working for Workers Five Act, to provide greater protections for employees.
One example being used is a Kitchener grocer with an extensive track record of not paying its employees and vendors.
“Over the last five years we have been seeing waves of workers come to us about one particular employer, a grocery store in the region called Dutchies Fresh Market,” said Joanna Mullen, a lawyer with Waterloo Region Community Legal Services.
The Dutchies story was shocking to many of those on the committee.
“I was absolutely blown away, realizing that it was more than a decade this has been happening,” stated Jamie West, the Sudbury MPP and NDP Labour critic.
West and others on the committee said it shows the laws currently in place are not strong enough.
“You can't get away with wage theft for more than a decade and have the Ministry of Labor kind of put its hands in its pockets and say, ‘shucks, jeez, what can we do?’” said West.
Bill 190 currently proposes increasing the maximum fine for bad actors from $50,000 to $100,000.
West pointed out in the committee meeting that the maximum fine is rarely issued, so increasing the fine is not enough.
“Dutchies is a horrible example of this, there are horrible examples all across the province,” he said. “There's a lot of really great employers, but we have to hold the bad ones to account.”
According to Mullen, the province should have the ability to shutdown businesses with repeat offenses.
“The ministry should have more powers to strip employers of the licenses that they need to operate a business, whether it's their business license, a liquor license, even a driver's license,” Mullen explained. “They need to have some ability to actually go into these companies and say: ‘You can't do this anymore.’”
Lawmakers have another two weeks to propose amendments to the current legislation and West promised he’d support a law allowing the province to revoke a business’s license.
“The Minister of Labour really should be writing legislation to give him the power to prevent this from happening,” he said.
CTV News reached out to David Piccini, the Minister of Labour, but did not hear back by our deadline.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India trashes Canada for linking home minister to Sikh activist plot
India officially protested on Saturday the Canadian government's allegation that the country's powerful home minister Amit Shah had ordered the targeting of Sikh activists inside Canada, calling it 'absurd and baseless.'
The impact of Trump's lies in Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Ohio was once a manufacturing hub. Now, people know it for Trump's comments at September's presidential debate, when he famously - and falsely - told an audience of 67 million people that Haitians eat their pets, echoing claims that had circulated on social media.
'Election seems really close': Americans in Canada cast ballot ahead of U.S. election
Stephen Winters says watching the U.S. election campaign from Canada as a dual citizen is like a parent watching their kid play sports.
Vancouver quietly proclaimed Chip Wilson Day as billionaire installed sign calling B.C. NDP 'communist'
On the same day Chip Wilson erected a controversial sign at his Vancouver mansion, the city was quietly honouring the billionaire and his wife.
Iran's supreme leader threatens Israel, U.S. with 'a crushing response' over Israeli attack
Iran's supreme leader on Saturday threatened Israel and the U.S. with 'a crushing response' over attacks on Iran and its allies.
Who is Kemi Badenoch, the first Black woman to lead Britain's Conservative Party?
The first Black woman to lead a major U.K. political party, Kemi Badenoch is an upbeat and outspoken libertarian who thinks the British state is broken.
Spain to send 10,000 soldiers, police to Valencia after deadly floods
Spain is sending 5,000 more soldiers and 5,000 more police to the eastern region of Valencia after deadly floods this week that killed more than 200 people, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Saturday.
Jury convicts former Kentucky officer of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during deadly raid
A federal jury on Friday convicted a former Kentucky police detective of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during a botched 2020 drug raid that left her dead.
Orphaned squirrel who became social media star was euthanized after being seized from New York home
An orphaned squirrel that became a social media star called Peanut was euthanized after state authorities seized the beloved pet during a raid on his caretaker's home, authorities said Friday.