Minister O'Regan highlights investments to protect the rights workers in the trucking industry with the Canadian Trucking Alliance and Teamsters in Toronto

GATINEAU, QC, Nov. 7, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, Minister of Labour Seamus O'Regan Jr. met with the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and Teamsters in Toronto, Ontario, to discuss targeted investments to address misclassification and protect the rights of road transportation workers.

In the trucking industry, there is a long history of companies using the misleading "Driver Inc." practice, whereby drivers are encouraged—against their will—to self-incorporate and claim to operate as independent contractors without information on the detriments of doing so. By misclassifying employees as independent contractors, companies are denying them important rights and entitlements under the Canada Labour Code, such as paid sick leave, health and safety standards, employer contributions to Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan, and workplace injury compensation.

To protect truck drivers against this illegal practice, the Fall Economic Statement proposes $26.3 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, to take stronger action against non-compliant employers through orders and fines to enforce the Code. This will make sure workers receive the benefits that they have worked hard for.

This investment will expand the Labour Program's capacity to enforce existing labour misclassification provisions in the Code.

The Fall Economic Statement also includes measures to help families cope with the growing cost of living. The government is sending targeted support to Canadians who need it the most, including: doubling the GST Credit for 11 million eligible Canadians; enhancing the Canada Workers Benefit to support 4.2 million Canadians; and making federal student and apprentice loans permanently interest free for the graduates of today and tomorrow.

The government is also moving forward with its comprehensive plan to make housing more affordable, including by helping people save to buy a home and by cracking down on house flipping. Finally, the Fall Economic Statement lays out an ambitious plan to strengthen industry and build a thriving net-zero economy with opportunities and jobs. These measures are all a part of the Government's work to build an economy that works for all Canadians.

Quote

"A lot of truckers aren't getting the pensions or paid sick leave that they're entitled to. So, we're ramping up labour law enforcement to put a stop to that. Workers should get the benefits they've earned."

Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Labour

"On behalf of the CTA, its members, drivers and their families, we very much appreciated seeing the Government of Canada make stamping out Driver Inc. a top priority in the fall Economic Statement and we are encouraged that Minister O'Regan is leading the charge. We thank him for his leadership and commitment on this issue. Driver Inc. is an unlawful practice that involves gross labour misclassification, abuse of workers, forced labour and significant corporate tax evasion. We welcome the chance to work with the Government of Canada to stamp out this practice as quickly as possible."

Stephen Laskowski, President of the Canada Trucking Association

"We are pleased to see our government invest resources in the enforcement of laws that will level the playing field and end the driving down of wages and working conditions caused by this scheme called Drivers Inc."

Mariam Abou-dib, Executive Director of Teamsters Canada

Quick Facts

• The federal government's fiscal anchor—the unwinding of COVID-19-related deficits and reducing the federal debt-to-GDP ratio over the medium term—remains unchanged. The federal debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to continuously decline and is on a steeper downward track than projected in Budget 2022.
• New measures proposed in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement include:

1. Making Life More Affordable:

• Permanently eliminating interest on federal student and apprentice loans;
• Creating a new, quarterly Canada Workers Benefit with automatic advance payments to put more money back in the pockets of our lowest-paid workers, sooner;
• Delivering on key pillars of the government's plan to make housing more affordable, including the creation of a new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, a doubling of the First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit, and ensuring that property flippers pay their fair share; and,
• Lowering credit card transaction fees for small business.

2. Investing in Jobs, Growth, and an Economy That Works for Everyone:

• Launching the new Canada Growth Fund which will help bring to Canada the billions of dollars in new private investment required to reduce our emissions, grow our economy, and create good jobs;
• Introducing major investment tax credits for clean technologies and clean hydrogen that will help create good jobs and make Canada a leader in the net-zero transition, and incentivizing higher wages for workers by increasing the level of the credit when certain labour protections are met;
• Implementing a new tax on share buybacks by public corporations in Canada; and,
• Creating the Sustainable Jobs Training Centre and investing in a new sustainable jobs stream of the Union Training and Innovation Program to equip workers with the skills required for the good jobs of today and the future.
• In January 2021, amendments to Part III of the Code came into force, making such intentional misclassification of employees illegal. In a recent pilot enforcement project to educate federally-regulated transportation employers about the new rules, more than 60 per cent were found to be in contravention of the misclassification rules. Further action responds to calls by the Canadian Trucking Alliance and Teamsters Canada, representing both employers and workers, to address this coercive practice.
• The Canada Revenue Agency is currently working across sectors, including the road transportation industry, to encourage greater awareness and foster compliance with tax rules governing the use of incorporated employees. Further details will be provided in Budget 2023. Canadians are encouraged to report suspected tax avoidance to the Canada Revenue Agency, either online or by phone.
• Truck drivers are and always will be entitled to self-incorporate as independent contractors. We are not prohibiting self-incorporation. However, when drivers are intentionally misclassified as independent contractors, employees are deprived of rights and protections under the Code, including wage entitlements, health and safety protections, and access to paid leaves, among others.

Related products

• 2022 Fall Economic Statement
• Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister for the 2022 Fall Economic Statement
• Backgrounder: Making Life More Affordable
• Backgrounder: Making Housing More Affordable
• Backgrounder: Jobs, Growth, and an Economy That Works for Everyone
• Technical Backgrounder: Canada Growth Fund

Associated links

• Annual Financial Report 2021-2022
• Affordability Plan
• Legislation to double the GST Credit for six months receives Royal Assent
• Government of Canada introduces legislation to make life more affordable for Canadians
• Legislation to grow Canadian economy and make life more affordable receives Royal Assent
• Deputy Prime Minister outlines government's Affordability Plan for Canadians

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

Media may contact: Jane Deeks, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Labour, 343-550-9594, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]