Our members and board have numerous causes dear to them about inequality and workers rights, however we’ve listed some of our interests and desires below.

Taxation inequities

• • Provide income averaging for freelance workers, such as those who work on a short-term contractual basis and self-employed individuals
  • Clarify and simplify the process of filing income taxes for those who work on a short-term contractual basis and self-employed individuals

Government policy changes

• • Bring back quality jobs to support young families and allow people to save for retirement
  • Introduce a national childcare policy to support young families
  • Update provincial employment standards acts to recognize workers doing precarious work
  • Remove barriers to union organizing and achieving collective bargaining rights
  • Set sector-wide minimum standards
  • Prevent the misclassification of employees as independent contractors

Employment insurance

• • Provide broader access to employment insurance benefits for workers
  • Reduce the waiting period that must be served before benefits may be paid
  • Reduce the hours of employment required to qualify for benefits
  • Raising the level of benefits
  • Extending the maximum benefit period
  • Improve the benefits for workers in cyclical or intermittent employment sectors

Pension security

• • Increase benefits paid out by the Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan
  • Restore the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits to 65 years of age;
  • Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement
  • Improve the availability of affordable retirement savings vehicles that provide minimum guaranteed benefits; and
  • Protect workplace pensions more effectively under federal bankruptcy legislation.

Benefits

• • Supporting a universal pharmacare plan
  • Address the lack of benefits, including health, vision, dental and drug insurance, for workers who do not have access to such benefits

Human Rights

• • A need for a basic living wage across all of Canada, taking into account provincial and territorial variances in cost of living such as food and electricity
  • Protections for those working with disabilities, or children with disabilities, including fair wages, appropriate benefits, and adequate support systems
  • An intersectional understanding of inequality, and the systemic barriers towards equality for minority populations