Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Let us be clear. Today, we agreed that the committee should hear from all the proposed witnesses. We agreed to pass the motion as it is, except for the production of documents. That is the only thing we want to remove. I think that is a good arrangement. Now, we have to stop this and come to an agreement so that we can move on to all the topics you mentioned, Mr. Chair. I think we can move forward in a reasonable way after removing the document production requirement from the motion. We even failed to propose, through an amendment, that the committee conduct a study on ports. I had already mentioned that I intended to move that the committee consider this issue for its next study. This is an extremely important topic. However, I think we have shown our good faith. We agreed that the committee should hear from all the proposed witnesses, in addition to the Association des professionnels du dépannage du Québec. We need to get this over with in order to make recommendations and draft a report with the help of the analysts.
With regard to the Driver Inc. model, it was felt, during the testimony, that drivers had been pressured to set up a corporation. There were companies that had other companies set up that had only one driver. They are fake self-employed workers. This scheme was created for a number of reasons. One of them is the elimination of payroll taxes. You do not need to pay employment insurance, to contribute to a pension fund, to pay insurance premiums to the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail in Quebec, or to its equivalent elsewhere in Canada. So a company is created and pressure is put on its driver, who is responsible for maintaining his daily report card, which includes his driving hours. That has a direct impact. This results in major financial losses. Above all, this is unfair competition.
These are unprotected workers. That is what we heard. This afternoon, we have the opportunity to tell these unprotected workers that we are there for them and that we will support them. The committee has an opportunity today to table all testimonies with the analysts and to start making recommendations. Of course, we are not going to solve everything overnight. The economic pressure on businesses is not going to evaporate overnight. We are not going to instantly get rid of the legal grey areas regarding this issue. However, we can make good progress in order to improve equity between self-employed workers, employees and employers.
Nor is the lack of coordination between the provinces and territories going to be resolved overnight. However, we have to be able to tell those provinces that we are ready to collaborate and that we have recommendations to make. We need to table recommendations in the House so that we can say, “This is the work that the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities has done on the problem of the Driver Inc. scheme. We are here for you.” This is a clear message that we need to send to drivers, businesses and everyone who worked extremely hard to prevent companies from setting up fictitious small businesses. A driver of a small business that has only one client is in fact an employee.
We also have to talk about the direct consequences of this scheme on workers. They say there is a labour shortage, but we do not know what is going to happen. Drivers who take part in the Driver Inc. scheme are not entitled to employment insurance. Maybe one day they will need it. In addition, we talk a lot about the risk of accidents, but there are also diseases. Mental health is also growing concern. Employees are being abused. They are under pressure because a company has been created that does not really exist, and certain conditions are imposed that other drivers do not have, such as a list of responsibilities and mileage requirements. We have even heard testimony to the effect that drivers keep two daily cards at the same time so they can work more hours. The safety and health of these drivers are therefore at stake. They are certainly at risk of becoming ill, and if they do, they have no recourse, since they work for their own company.
That is not what we want. We want these drivers to have access to an insurance plan, such as that of the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail in Quebec or that of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ontario. We want to give them dignity so that they have the right to be sick and have the same rights as other drivers.
No compensation can be paid if the business ceases to exist. So what do they do? It is very simple: They close the business and open another one. They do it again until they get caught or until things go wrong. Some people change companies. At the moment, it is extremely difficult to find a driver who has shut down one company and started another under another name. That has a direct impact on businesses and workers.