The first thing I'll say is that these amendments would put interns, students, and entry-level workers in a worse position than they're currently in under the Canada Labour Code. Entry-level interns and workers who are receiving training are currently entitled to a number of different employment protections, including wages, the ability to file complaints, and protections against sexual harassment. These exemptions only cover a small portion of the protections they should be entitled to, and we've discussed the health and safety and the benefits of that, but there's quite a lot missing.
The proposal we've made today is that the simplest solution, the simplest amendment, would be to only allow unpaid internships in the context of educational institutions. Those institutions provide the appropriate oversight to ensure that interns have a process for complaints to ensure that they are receiving training for the work that they're doing. Once they graduate, that's when they should start receiving pay for the hours they're working in addition to the summer months.