Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act, 2017

The Ontario Chamber Network is calling on the Government of Ontario to immediately repeal the drastic labour reforms introduced by Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act, 2017.

On October 2, 2018, Premier Doug Ford signalled that the government will be reviewing Bill 148. This is positive news for the Ontario business community and we will continue to hold the government to account on this commitment.

Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, was passed on November 22, 2017. This legislation makes several changes to both the Employment Standards Act, 2000, the Labour Relations Act, 1995, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, including raising the minimum wage.

Read the Bill Has Bill 148 affected your business? Share your story.

The Ontario Chamber Network is dedicated to working collaboratively with the provincial government to strengthen business competitiveness and economic prosperity across Ontario.

We recognize the importance of modernizing labour relations and employment standards in Ontario. However, with respect to Bill 148, the process of consultation and implementation undermine the Ontario business community and were too much, too fast. It is important that future labour reforms are both fair to business and workers.

We are calling for repeal of the labour reforms introduced by Bill 148. The Ontario business community must be appropriately consulted, and a comprehensive economic impact analysis needs to be completed for any future proposed changes to employment legislation.

We support the minimum wage remaining at $14 an hour and the Government of Ontario confirmed it will remain at this rate rather than raising to $15 in January 2019. This is an excellent first step towards alleviating the burden felt by Ontario businesses due to the many unintended but predictable consequences of Bill 148.

Read what Ontario business owners are saying

Share the tweet below and join us in calling on the government to strengthen business competitiveness and economic prosperity across Ontario:

We join @OntarioCofC in calling on @fordnation and @LaurieScottPC to create labour reforms that are both fair to businesses and workers. This begins with the repeal of Bill 148.

A group of people standing in front of a building.

Real People, Real Consequences

“The unintended consequences of these rising operational and management costs to our employees associated with Bill 148 are loss of health and dental benefits, loss of private pension plan and loss of paid uniforms.” – City Welding Business
“We are in the process of reviewing all of our prices and products on offer to determine how to try to become profitable again. For the past 5 years of our 10 years in business we were finally making a modest profit that we were using to pay down debt. Sadly, this year we are back in the red.” – Small Business Owner
Has Bill 148 impacted your business? Share Your Story.

Read what Ontario business owners are saying

Bill 148: In the Media

Read the latest news on our Bill 148 advocacy:

Call to Action

Share the tweet below and join us in calling on the government to strengthen business competitiveness and economic prosperity across Ontario:

We join the @OntarioCofC and in calling on @fordnation and @LaurieScottPC to create labour reforms that are both fair to businesses and workers. This begins with the repeal of Bill 148.