Ontario’s equal pay for temps is history as Bill 47 officially became law last week; courts are beginning to recognize “dependent” contractor relationships.
Bill 47. Ontario’s Bill 47, The “Making Ontario Open for Business Act [1],” received royal assent, becoming law on Nov. 21. It was introduced on Oct. 23, meant to overturn provisions of Bill 148, the recently ousted liberal government’s legislation. In addition to halting the minimum wage increase, the new law removes the provision of equal pay for temporary workers, which came into effect in April. SIA’s Fiona Coombe, director of legal and regulatory research, wrote about Bill 47 in her most recent article in CWS 3.0 [2].
Dependent contractor. Canadian courts are beginning to recognize a third type of worker: the dependent contractor, writes McKercher LLP partner George A. Green in an article on Montaq [3]. Falling between an employee and an independent contractor, a dependent contractor is typically found to be a contractor that is economically dependent on its principal. In such employment relationships, the principal must provide the dependent contractor with reasonable notice of termination, similar to an employer/employee relationship.