SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Lise Vaugeois

  • MPP
  • Member of Provincial Parliament
  • Thunder Bay—Superior North
  • New Democratic Party of Ontario
  • Ontario
  • 272 Park Ave. Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6M9 LVaugeois-CO@ndp.on.ca
  • tel: 807-345-3647
  • fax: 807-345-2922
  • LVaugeois-QP@ndp.on.ca

  • Government Page

Thank you to the member from Ottawa Centre for your remarks. I want to go to the beginning of what you were talking about. You were talking about very precarious workers, racialized workers, immigrant workers working in very unsafe conditions that could be prevented.

I want to talk about commercial truck drivers. There are many, many immigrant commercial truck drivers and they are dying on the job. They are dying because they are not receiving any training. I know this because I’ve met with them. They are putting up as much as $40,000 for training they never receive. They have very precarious immigration status, which is why they can be pressured. They’re like indentured servants, really. Wage theft is rampant.

I see that higher fines are in this bill but I also know that those fines are rarely applied. It’s also a complaint-based process, which puts the entire burden on the workers, who are already vulnerable. I think they’re begging for inspections. So I’m just wondering if you see some way that we could be helping those workers in revisions to this bill.

190 words
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