FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, August 15 2012 — The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) today released its Interim Report on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work for public feedback. The Interim Report includes draft recommendations designed to respond to the challenges faced by vulnerable workers in order to either reduce their vulnerability to, or the impacts of, precarious work. The Project focuses, in particular, on improvements to the statutory and policy framework of the Employment Standards Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act in protecting these workers. However, it also reviews and makes recommendations about existing community and government supports and programs for workers, employers and for training and education, as well as the role of labour organizations.

The deadline for feedback on the Interim Report is Monday, October 1, 2012. The LCO anticipates releasing a Final Report in Winter 2013. 

“The LCO’s Interim Report on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work is a response to the increase in precarious work and the predominance of women, immigrants and/or racialized persons in this work,” said Dr. Patricia Hughes, Executive Director of the LCO.

The LCO has formed an Advisory Group made up of academics, advocates, legal and government representatives, as well as representatives of worker, employer and community organizations. In early 2011, the LCO released Background and Consultation Papers for this project, and over the course of the Project has conducted extensive research, including commissioning two research papers by noted academics and experts. In 2011 and 2012, the LCO conducted approximately 50 consultations with individuals and organizations, including more than 100 workers.

Launched in September 2007, the LCO, funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario, the Ministry of the Attorney General, Osgoode Hall Law School and the Law Society of Upper Canada, and supported by the Ontario law deans, is housed in the Ignat Kaneff Building, York University. It operates independently of government to recommend law reforms to enhance access to justice.

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Norine Nathanson
Ministry of the Attorney General LCO Counsel-in-Residence
Law Commission of Ontario
(416) 650-8401
LawCommission@lco-cdo.org