Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

Comité permanent des ressources humaines, du développement des compétences, du développement social et de la condition des personnes handicapées

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 10, 2019 -

Over recent decades significant changes have taken place in the world of work. These are the result of globalisation, advances in information and communications technologies, and demographic changes. While there is agreement that precarious employment is a serious issue, it is more difficult to define and precisely measure what constitutes precarious employment. There are real concerns that this lack of clarity around what constitutes precarious employment may be limiting the government’s ability to effectively address the impact it has on workers and their families.

Today, MP Bryan May, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, presented the Committee’s 19th report in the House of Commons. “This report speaks to what many Canadians are seeing in their workplaces and across our society, a shift in the way work is understood, performed, and interacting with people’s lives. It gets to the bottom of many issues that are commonplace but poorly understood, and points to several things the government can to do to address these concerns” said Mr. May.

Entitled, Precarious Work: Understanding the changing nature of work in Canada, the report was inspired by a motion sponsored by Terry Sheehan (Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie). MP Sheehan told the Committee, “No one is immune to the effects of precarious work…The nature of work is changing, and we need to understand how it impacts our workers so that we can better protect Canadians.”

The goal of MP Sheehan’s private members’ motion was to study how we can create a solid foundation for developing appropriate and relevant policy. The report presents conclusions and the Committee’s recommendations to Employment and Social Development Canada including recommendations to work together with other federal departments and agencies as well as other levels of government to address the challenges of precarious employment and better protect workers.

The Committee is composed of 14 Members of Parliament, including the Chair. It is chaired by Bryan May (Cambridge) and its vice-chairs are John Barlow (Foothills) and Brigitte Sansoucy (Saint-Hyacinthe – Bagot). The other committee members are: Rodger Cuzner (Cape Breton — Canso), Kerry Diotte (Edmonton Griesbach), Rosemarie Falk (Battlefords — Lloydminster), Gordie Hogg (South Surrey – White Rock), Wayne Long (Saint John – Rothesay), Robert J. Morrissey (Egmont), Sherry Romanado (Longueuil – Charles-LeMoyne), Dan Ruimy (Pitt Meadows – Maple Ridge), Ramesh Sangha (Brampton Centre), Adam Vaughan (Spadina – Fort York), and Kate Young (London West).