Child poverty and unpaid internships

Child poverty and unpaid internships

RATHIKA SITSABAIESAN, MP

Motion 534 Eliminating Child Poverty in Canada

On February 5th, my motion to create a national poverty elimination strategy to end child poverty in Canada was passed in the House of Commons. The motion comes at a time when the United Nations has deemed Canada’s child poverty situation a “national emergency”, with almost a million Canadian children currently living in extreme poverty. The new motion calls for the eradication of child poverty by investing in affordable and accessible housing, child care, and child nutrition programs.

Twenty-five years after Parliament adopted the NDP’s motion to end child poverty in Canada, child poverty still remains unacceptably high. The national child poverty rate is now 21%, with Aboriginal and visible minority children being especially vulnerable. Surely we can do better.

Tom Mulcair’s NDP has a practical plan to end child poverty, including $15 a day child care and a $15 per hour federal minimum wage. When we form government, we are committed to developing a national poverty reduction plan with measurable targets and timelines.

To learn more about the motion, please visit my website: http://rathikasitsabaiesan.ndp.ca/mp-rathika-sitsabaiesan-introduces-motion-on-eliminating-child-poverty

Intern Protection Act

The New Democrats are calling on all MPs to adopt a new bill that would protect the rights of unpaid interns. Under current federal law, unpaid interns have no protections and are at risk of being abused or exploited. The Intern Protection Act (C-636) introduced by NDP MP Laurin Liu grants basic protections to all interns in federally regulated industries and ensures that there are proper workplace standards and safety provisions in place. Some of these provisions include:

• The right to refuse dangerous work

• Limits on excessive hours

• Protection from sexual harassment

Furthermore, the bill would limit the use of and push for the tougher regulation of unpaid internships. The NDP believe that interns deserve the same protections as paid workers. Show your support here:

http://petition.ndp.ca/unpaidinterns

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Rathika Sitsabaiesan
Member of Parliament
Scarborough-Rouge River

(PRESS RELEASE)