The Federal budget bill introduced on May 07 contains propositions to govern unpaid internships. It includes several amendments to Canada’s Labor Code that covers Federally regulated sectors (especially telecommunications, television, airline companies, and banking institutions). The bill provides health and safety protection for interns and obliges businesses to maintain a specific register of hours for interns.
Guidelines for unpaid internships. The bill sets out rules over unpaid internships. Internships are authorized when they are linked to graduate level educational programs or when they satisfy these criteria:
- The internship tasks are of principal benefit to the intern
- The employer supervises the internship
- The internship is not a pre-requisite for obtaining a job and the company is not obliged to offer the intern employment once the internship is concluded
- Interns are not to replace employees
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