Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate when it takes a tragic event to bring attention to a deficiency in legislation or public policy.
On November 1, 2011, Andy Ferguson was killed in a head-on collision while returning home following two consecutive 16-hour workdays. Andy was completing a broadcast diploma at NAIT, and as part of that program was completing an unpaid internship at Astral Media. In addition, Astral radio paid Andy to do location spots, contest promotions and various other assignments.
It was the accumulation of the paid and unpaid hours at the radio station that led to his fatigued condition, and ultimately this tragic accident.
When Labour Canada did its investigation, it rightly concluded that his paid hours of work were within the allowable limits and it had no authority to investigate the unpaid hours because Andy was a post-secondary student and therefore that matter fell under provincial jurisdiction.
This tragedy highlights the regulatory gap that exists with respect to unpaid interns and the need to amend the Canada Labour Code to account for the combined hours, paid and unpaid, to protect these vulnerable and young workers.
I ask the federal government to act.