This past month, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government has launched Bill 47, otherwise known as the ‘Making Ontario Open for Business Act,’ which will halt the planned increase from $14 to $15 per hour for minimum wage and reduce the number of sick days that workers are allowed to take.
This comes hand in hand with the repeal of Bill 148, a bill that mandates equal pay for part-time and temporary workers doing the same job as full-time employees and increases vacation time entitlement to three weeks after a worker has been with their company for five years, amongst other benefits that were meant to improve labour relations and health and safety for Ontario workers.
This was a promise that Ford has stood by since his spring election campaign.
However, it is not sitting well with a number of individuals in the Sault.
On Tuesday afternoon, despite awful rain, representatives from a number of local unions stood with the Sault Ste. Marie and District Labour Council rallying for workers’ rights in front of MPP Ross Romano’s constituency office.
They expressed a concern over Romano’s silence on the matter. That being said, Romano was out of town this week for meetings between Nipissing and Thunder Bay.
