Bill 148 and precarious workers - will it make a difference?

When he's not at work at the Urban Worker Project, Andrew Cash is a musician. On January 26th, he spoke to rabble podcast exec producer Victoria Fenner in Barrie, Ontario, between sound checks just before a tribute concert to the late Gordon Downey Jr. of the Tragically Hip. The concert was in support of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund.

Andrew Cash is also a former member of parliament and one of the co-founders of the Urban Worker Project.

When he was a member of Parliament from 2011 to 2015, precarious work was one of Andrew's major issues of concern. His National Urban Worker Strategy Bill was ground breaking legislation in Canada's Parliament dealing with precarious work and led to the first protections under federal labour laws for unpaid internships.

The Urban Worker Project is an extension of that work. Because Bill 148 only came into effect on January 1st of this year, Ontario is the focus of a lot of the discussion about labour changes, but changes are needed in other provinces too. And changes are coming. Does it go far enough? Should it be a model for other provinces?

Image: provided by Urban Worker Project

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