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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A pr il 19 , 2 01 8 |24 n e w s Students speak in favour of employment bill Town of Oakville photo Taryn Silvestre, Brooke Schmidt, Jessica Caya-Germaine speak about Bill 148 during a meeting of Oakville council. DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Former St. Dominic Catholic Elementary School students weighed in on the passing of the Fair Work­ places, Better Jobs Act (Bill 148) and what they feel it means for the future during a recent meeting of Oakville council. Last year the school's Grade 7 and 8 students were tasked with researching precarious employment in Ontario and the impact it has on employees. The students concluded in those presentations that the poor treatment of work­ ers in the early 1900s shared some similarities with to­ day's work environments. Ward 1 Coun. Ralph Rob­ inson and Oakville MPP and Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn viewed these presen­ tations, and the youths were ultimately invited to Oak­ ville council to share their thoughts on recent changes to employment rules in On­ tario in the form of Bill 148. The act, which was passed Nov. 22, increased the minimum wage to $14 per hour, expanded person­ al emergency leave in all workplaces, provides leave that can be taken if a worker or their child has experi­ enced or is threatened with domestic or sexual violence, seeks to provide fairer scheduling rules, and pro­ vides workers with unpaid leave they can take to care for a critically ill family member. It also entitles workers a minimum of three weeks' vacation after five years with the same employer. Brooke Schmidt, who has graduated from St. Dominic school, said she sees the fair­ er scheduling rules as par­ ticularly valuable. She made special men­ tion of the ability an employ­ ee now has to refuse shifts if their employer asks them to work with less than 96 hours' notice. "In a society where many employees must work multi­ ple jobs to support them­ selves - whether that be col­ lege and university stu­ dents, graduates struggling to find work in their field or people with personal strug­ gles like supporting a young child - it is important that workers be allowed to refuse work shifts offered with short notice," said Schmidt. "This section of Bill 148 is important to me because in a few years I will be enrolled in university and as a stu­ dent supporting myself and paying student fees will be difficult. Having a job while keeping up with my grades will be stressful. Having the opportunity to decline work if it is short notice and I am busy will benefit me by keeping my stress levels down." Council also heard from Taryn Silvestre, who fo­ cused on the expansion of emergency leave. She argued emergency leave should not be available only to workers who are part of a workplace that em­ ploys 50 or more people, as was the case before Bill 148. Silvestre said this issue is important to her because she is a strong believer in human dignity and believes society must fight against inequality. "As a community it is our obligation to meet the needs of the people in the work­ place," she said. "Ontario is leading the march for drastic change in employment standards." Jessica Caya-Germaine said what mattered most to her were the consequences for employers who violate the Employment Services Act. These consequences could include having their names made public by the government. "It is important to know whom you are working for so you do not get taken ad­ vantage of," she said. CALL FOR INFORMATION OR TO BOOK A TOUR CCMA • An empowering curriculum that engages children • Individual focus to define your child's learning • Community atmosphere that makes students feel included and valued • Creative expression allows your child to explore their own interests and talents GLENORCHY CONSERVATION AREA 2018 PRESCRIBED BURN NOTICE Conservation Halton Authentic Montessori at its Best - For Ages 18 mo.-12 yrs. Conservation Halton is planning a prescribed burn which will take place in April or early May at Glenorchy Conservation Area in north Oakville. During the next few weeks. Conservation Halton staff will monitor Glenorchy Conservation Area. When conditions are suitable, 48 hours' notice will be given to the local media and agencies. A prescribed burn is a deliberately set, carefully planned and controlled low severity fire which consumes ground level vegetation materials. The goal of the burn is to manage the restored native grassland within the North Oakville Natural Heritage System. The burn will remove invasive non-native plants and provide the necessary disturbance to native grassland species to promote growth of deep rooted plants and increase the rate of germination. Without a regular fire regime, non-desirable and woody vegetation will displace grassland species. Smoke from the burn is not expected to disturb surrounding neighbourhoods. It is possible however, that some smoke may reach areas near the conservation area. This is Glenorchy Conservation Area's second prescribed burn, the last one was in spring o f 2016. Glenorchy Conservation Area is managed by Conservation Halton and is owned by the Province of Ontario (Infrastructure Ontario). For more information about the prescribed burn, please call Conservation Halton at 905.336.1158 email restoration@hrca.on.ca or visit conservationhalton.ca/ g lenorchy-prescr ibed-bu rn. FAIRVIEW GLEN MONTESSORI SCHOOL 905.634.0781 •fairviewglen.com mailto:dlea@metroland.com mailto:restoration@hrca.on.ca