Interview with Bruce Hyer, MP for Thunder Bay - Superior North

It is estimated that there are currently between 100,000 to 300,00 unpaid interns in Canada. But because the Canada Labour Code and most provincial labour laws do not regulate unpaid internships, thousands of young workers are being exploited by employers who refuse to pay them, even though they often perform the same work as paid employees.

Instead of addresing this issue, the federal government has contributed to the problem by employing 961 unpaid interns since 2008. And it has only hired 22 of those interns for paid positions.

Should the federal government take steps to regulate unpaid internships through the Canada Labour Code, and ensure that interns who perform the work of employees are paid for their work?

Yes, the federal government should amend the Canada Labour Code to ban unpaid internships where the federal government has jurisdiction. Exploitative work is unacceptable. The situation you describe, of young unpaid workers working alongside paid workers, does not benefit anyone except employers. Unpaid internships undercut the ability of paid employees to negotiate for adequate wages and work conditions. And they do not provide the income that younger people need to pay for their own basic living costs, never mind tuition.

In 2011, the Conservatives won a majority of seats in Parliament and 100 percent of the governing power by garnering only 39 percent of the popular vote.

Since then the party has passed a wide array of controversial and unpopular policies with little support from the opposition, and this has many citizens asking whether and how we can elect a government that represents and listens to the majority of Canadians.

What will the Green Party do to make Canada's electoral system fairer and more representative of voters' wishes?

Our current first-past-the-post system does not produce governments that reflect the diversity of people in Canada, nor does it accurately reflect voters’ wishes. Canada is one of the last free and prosperous nations in the world to still use this antiquated voting system. Winner-take-all elections classify half of all voters as losers unworthy of representation. It is time for change. It is time for democratic reform.

The Green Party believes that Canada must switch to a proportional voting system that fairly and directly translates all votes into representation in Parliament. Green Party MPs will legislate the end of first-past-the-post voting, establish an all-party Democratic Voting Commission to review past research on electoral systems, and conduct a public consultation on the style of proportional representation best suited to Canada. The Democratic Voting Commission will make recommendations to Parliament. The final step would entail drafting and passing new legislation implementing democratic reform in Canada.