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  • Defining Internships and Apprenticeships – Your Rights

    Defining Internships and Apprenticeships – Your Rights

    There are few laws in Canada defining or regulating internships directly. Each province has its own employment standards legislation, regulations and/or guidelines that may apply to interns.

    ONTARIO
    Ontario’s Employment Standards Act states that all employees must be paid at least the Ontario minimum wage ($10.25 per hour for most employees). An “employee” includes a person who receives training from an employer. A person is not considered an employee if these six conditions are met:

    – The training is similar to that which is given in a vocational school
    – The training is for the benefit of the individual
    – The person providing the training derives little, if any, benefit from the activity of the individual while he or she is being trained
    – The individual does not displace employees of the person providing the training
    – The individual is not accorded a right to become an employee of the person providing the training
    – The individual is advised that he or she will receive no remuneration for the time that he or she spends in training

    BRITISH COLUMBIA
    BC’s Employment Standards Act states all employees must be paid at least the BC minimum wage ($10.25 per hour for most employees). An “employee” is a person receiving or entitled to wages for work performed for another, who was hired and receives training from an employer. ”Work” is defined as labour or services an employee performs for an employer whether in the employee’s residence or elsewhere.

    According to the Interpretation Guidelines Manual, an “internship” may be considered “work” and therefore is subject to the minimum wage. An internship is defined as follows:

    “An “internship” is on-the-job training offered by an employer to provide a person with practical experience. Often internships are offered to persons who have completed a diploma or degree program and are seeking employment. Completing an internship does not itself result in an academic certificate or diploma. If the duties performed by interns fall within the definition of “work” contained in the Act, the intern falls within the definition of “employee”, and the agency using the services of an intern falls within the definition of “employer”, internships will be considered “work” for the purposes of the Act.”

    BC has distinguished an “internship” from a “practicum.” A practicum is “hands-on” training that is part of a formal education process and done for school credit. A practicum is not considered “work” and therefore not subject to the minimum wage.

    QUEBEC
    Under Quebec’s Labour Standards Act, most employees are entitled to the minimum wage of $9.90 per hour. An employee is deemed to be at work “during any trial period or training required by the employer.” A person is considered an “employee” if these criteria are met:

    – the person performs work that is defined by an employee
    – the person’s tasks are clearly defined
    – the person receives renumeration
    Therefore, an unpaid intern (commonly called an Stagiaire in Quebec) are generally not considered employees, but this can be evaluated on a case by case basis.

    ALBERTA
    Alberta’s Employment Standards Code provides for a minimum wage of $9.40 for most employees (Reg 14/97). An “employee” is an individual employed to do work who receives or is entitled to wages. It is unclear what “entitled to wages” means and therefore unclear whether interns in Alberta should receive a minimum wage.

    MANITOBA
    Manitoba’s Employment Standards Code states that employees must be paid the minimum wage of $10 per hour, subject to some exceptions. An “employee” is defined as “an individual who is employed by an employer to do work.” ”Work” is defined as “skilled or unskilled manual, clerical, domestic, professional or technical labour performed or services provided by an employee.” In Manitoba, it appears that any intern is entitled to the minimum wage.

    SASKATCHEWAN
    Saskatchewan’s Labour Standards Act provides for a minimum of wage of $9.50 for most employees. An “employee” is defined as someone who receives or is entitled to remuneration for labour or services performed for an employer. It is unclear what “entitled to remuneration” means and therefore unclear whether interns should receive a minimum wage.

    NEW BRUNSWICK
    New Brunswick’s Employment Standards Act provides for a minimum wage of $10,00 for most employees (Reg. 2011-54). An “employee” is defined as a person who performs work or supplies services to an employer for wages. It is unclear whether unpaid interns are entitled to the minimum wage in New Brunswick.

    NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
    Newfoundland & Labrador’s Labour Standards Act provides for a minimum wage of $10,00 for most employees. An “employee” is defined as a person who works under a contract of service for an employer. This definition of employee is sufficiently broad to include unpaid interns, meanings that all interns in Newfoundland & Labrador are entitled to minimum wage.

    NOVA SCOTIA
    Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Code provides for a minimum wage is $10.15 for most employees. An “employee” is defined as a person employed to do work. Based on this broad definition, it appears that an unpaid intern would be entitled to minimum wage in Nova Scotia.

    PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
    PEI’s Employment Standards Act provides for a minimum wage of $10 for most employees (Reg EC139/96). An “employee” is a person who performs any work for or supplies any services for an employer for pay, and includes “a person who is being trained by an employer to form work for or supply services to the employer.” It is unclear whether unpaid interns are entitled to the minimum wage in PEI.

  • Career Profile: Lawyer

    Career Profile: Lawyer

    Lawyers are often the most important people for maintaining justice and making sure that the rules of society are followed. These rules that determine how business is conducted between individuals and organizations are the walls and the structure that ensure people are safe, happy, and able to lead fulfilling lives. Lawyers are the people that defend justice and they help to advance society in a logical and well reasoned fashion.

    Becoming a lawyer involves a lot of hard work, and being a lawyer involves a lot more hard work. To become a lawyer, one must complete high school with good enough grades to get into an undergraduate degree in university. When choosing an undergraduate degree, one may want to select something that is of interest such as science, arts or engineering, or one may wish to select something very particular to law like history, politics, environmental studies, ethics or law. The most important thing is to get grades that will allow you to enter law school – once you pass the LSAT exam. You will want to be in the high 70’s and up in order to get into a school. For the more competitive schools, you will want to score in the high 80’s and up. It is also important to be aware of what the requirements are for the particular school you are aiming for.

    The LSAT is an exam composed of tests evaluating reading comprehension and logical and verbal reasoning proficiencies. The average score on an LSAT is 150, with a low of 120 and a high of 180. It costs around $160 US dollars to undertake. Different schools accept different scores, and, once again, knowing what score is expected from the school you want to get into is the best way to determine how prepared you need to be. Once you gain acceptance into law school, you have four years of rigorous studying of laws and many tests to pass to ensure your successful completion of your program. It is also important to always be prepared for class, as you will often be called upon to answer questions.

    As a lawyer, there are many benefits and perks in addition to the hard work that you will have to do. The benefits include having a highly respected social status – being a lawyer puts you in a position of responsibility where others will look at you as an authority on the law. As a lawyer you will be working independently as well as on a team. You will be working on a team made up of judges who ultimately determine what is right and what is wrong, as well as officers of the law, more commonly known as police officers – the people who act on the ground to ensure that the law is put in effect. Finally, you will also enjoy being well paid, making $90,000 to start and then moving into the upwards range of $200,000 (source: ivyglobal.ca).

  • Child Labour: Working For A Living

    Child Labour: Working For A Living

    Do you usually have a lot of chores to do at home when you return from school? Do you have to help cook supper, walk the dog, mow the lawn, or shovel the driveway? If you’re like most Canadians, you probably have to do at least some of that kind of work. You might even have a paid job like delivering flyers or babysitting after school. Does it ever feel that you have to work too much? Many children around the world have to do much more. That’s why people in many countries have been working to end child labour by the year 2016.

    When people talk about child labour, they don’t mean the times when parents tell their children to set the table for supper or to help wash the dishes. They mean work that prevents children from receiving an education or that damages their growth in any way. Sometimes the work even kills them. Young children sometimes work all day in factories or other unhealthy or dangerous places instead of going to school and getting an education.

    Canada has laws that require parents to send their children to school, and most people follow the rules. From the age of twelve, children are allowed to have jobs that don’t interfere with their education or harm them in other ways. In countries like Canada and the United States, rules about child labour usually work fairly well, although there are still many cases of children working long hours in dangerous conditions. Sometimes, the children even die on the job. The official estimate of child labour in wealthy countries is about one percent.

    In poorer countries, however, the situation is worse. Parents have many children to feed and often also have to support their own parents or other relatives. Even with long hours of work, parents might still not make enough money to survive. In some cases, they might not be able to find any work at all. They might need the income their children bring into the family. Also, sending children to school can often be too expensive for them to afford. The highest level of child labour is in Asia, where about sixty percent of children work.

    According to the International Labour Organization, in 2008 about 215 million children around the world had jobs which kept them from going to school or playing. That number was down slightly from 2004, but it actually increased among some groups of children. The problem will continue until people do something about the causes.

    How can you help solve the problem of child labour? You can encourage people in government to make better laws, but a more effective way to end the worst kinds of child labour is to get involved personally in helping the families. Even if the child labourers live in another country, you can donate money to help raise the family income or you can tell your friends and family about the issue. Every bit of help can make a difference!