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Unlike Canada, the US has a Federal minimum wage that trumps the state if the state minimum wage is lower. In other words the minimum wage will always be at least as high as the federal minimum wage and may be higher if the state or city minimums are higher than the federal.
Overall though, Canadian minimum wages are higher, and have less " exclusions" such as the US's " tipped " jobs having a $2.13 minimum on jobs that make at least $30.00 a month in tips. Of course this varies state by state, but it exists. In Canada the closest exclusion to that is a server ( bartender ) makes $9.00 an hour in B.C. compared to $10.00 since they serve alcohol as the main part of their job.
Of course employment is not just about wages, but about benefits. Holiday pay, Holiday time ( mandated by province ), and paid pregnancy leave are all things the Canadian workers enjoy across the country.
With the greatest of respect, Canadian courts have decided that there is something wrong with at will employment laws and they have acted, using equitable jurisdiction, to protect workers by requiring employers to furnish those employees they intend to dismiss with notice of such impending dismissal. Employers have to allow those employees so notified to continue working during the notice period or to offer pay in lieu of working that notice period. Such notice periods/payments are almost always longer than any notice periods required by statutory employment standards. I have worked for loonies in the past and they love to abuse their power to dismiss as a terror tool. Notice, for those who respect the law, does much to temper the volatility, the abusiveness, and the insane excesses of such loonies.
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You should know that "at will" goes both ways.
If a worker must get compensation for being dismissed, shouldn't a company be compensated when a worker decides to change job?
I totally agree that sufficient notice should be given (min 2 weeks), but if we maintain that it should be made hard for employers to fire workers, it should be hard for workers to resign from the job as well - it could be time consuming and costly for companies to find the right replacement too, don't forget that.
As for abuse of power, often there is risks concerning keeping a worker working for a long time when he knows he is fired - he could potentially hold a grudge and do damage to the firm, he could steal confidential information and use it for his own gain, plus, do you really expect a worker to be fully functional and efficient when he knows he is already fired? This is particularly important for companies with valuable intangible asset/confidential information such as finance firms/banks, which is why on Wall Street, if you get fired, you leave immediately (you can't even go to your office to pack).
I totally agree that sufficient notice should be given (min 2 weeks), but if we maintain that it should be made hard for employers to fire workers, it should be hard for workers to resign from the job as well - it could be time consuming and costly for companies to find the right replacement too, don't forget that.
As for abuse of power, often there is risks concerning keeping a worker working for a long time when he knows he is fired - he could potentially hold a grudge and do damage to the firm, he could steal confidential information and use it for his own gain, plus, do you really expect a worker to be fully functional and efficient when he knows he is already fired? This is particularly important for companies with valuable intangible asset/confidential information such as finance firms/banks, which is why on Wall Street, if you get fired, you leave immediately (you can't even go to your office to pack).
In theory, employers are entitled to insist that resigning employees work a similarly reasonable notice period. For the practical reasons that you list, however, those employers might not want either a fired or a resigning employee to stick around. This is why many employers opt to go for pay in lieu of notice if they can people and also why they generally don't insist that people stick around when they resign or they are fired.
I tried to find some stats, but they are from 2004, so before the crisis. Also, I wonder if some of the minimum wage stats in the U.S. state what percentage work for less than minimum wage or live in states that did not have a minimum wage.
It gets even more complicated when you factor in different minimum wages for different jobs. Liquor servers etc.
Just numbers showing what percentage work for minimum wage don't tell the whole story. As I like to inform friends in Australia who brag about the lack of a tipping culture in Australia " We pay our waiters a living wage so they don't need tips " is the usual cry.
I counter with, true our wait staff may make 5 dollars less an hour, but they make more that most Australian wait staff when you count in the tips.
Food standard is a minefield. Are we talking about food quality or food safety? For food quality both countries do very well. I think when Canadians think about food quality compared to the U.S. they think of things like "Pink slime". That would never have been allowed in Canada. Also things like BGH ( bovine growth hormone) being legal in the U.S. Chocolate, meaning what each country can legally call chocolate. The UK's standard is higher than Canada's, and Canada's standard is higher than the U.S. Many Canadians find regular chocolate bars in the U.S. waxy.
Food safety…both countries, like everywhere have had issues. This from food safety.org
"Canada, with a population of 32 million, has approximately 10,000 reported cases of foodborne diseases each year and an estimated two million actual cases.3
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) estimates that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses annually among the country’s 294 million residents, as well as 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths per year. Known pathogens account for about 18 percent of the illnesses and 36 percent of the deaths, while unknown agents account for the rest. Three pathogens in particular, Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, are estimated to cause 1,500 deaths each year.4
Since 1996, the U.S. CDC has been tracking well-known foodborne diseases through its FoodNet program and has reported a decline in major bacterial foodborne illnesses including Yersinia, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli"
Food insecurity? Sounds like an economic issue. Not sure what it has to do with food safety and how does it compare with the U.S.? At least with " food insecurity " it sounds like people know what healthy food is.
Since we're talking about food between the U.S. and Canada this is interesting.
"A 2010 consumer profile by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada noted that Americans tend to place high priority on food that’s tasty, convenient and cheap, while nutrition and quality were higher priorities north of the border.
Canadians consumed 80.3 kilograms of fruit per person in 2009 — almost 25 kilograms more than the average American.
Similarly, the average Canadian ate 113.4 kilograms of vegetables in a year, compared to the U.S. average of 67.5 kilograms."
Canadians consumed 80.3 kilograms of fruit per person in 2009 — almost 25 kilograms more than the average American.
Similarly, the average Canadian ate 113.4 kilograms of vegetables in a year, compared to the U.S. average of 67.5 kilograms."
LOL. The US data are probably askewed by millions of southerns who consume 5kg of vege a year.
Among the 67.5kg of vegetables Americans eat, half of them are in the form of french fries at fast food restaurants (yes, they consider it as "vegetable")
LOL. The US data are probably askewed by millions of southerns who consume 5kg of vege a year.
Among the 67.5kg of vegetables Americans eat, half of them are in the form of french fries at fast food restaurants (yes, they consider it as "vegetable")
Perhaps, but how is that skewed? Southerners are PART of the U.S.A.
LOL. The US data are probably askewed by millions of southerns who consume 5kg of vege a year.
Among the 67.5kg of vegetables Americans eat, half of them are in the form of french fries at fast food restaurants (yes, they consider it as "vegetable")
That doesn't apply to us we do not eat french fries but do eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits that we get locally all year. We buy most of our produce at the farmer's markets that are all over California. We have 2 farmer's markets just 10 minutes from our home. We also have many food markets that specialize in fresh produce.
Nope. I can't think of anything that's becoming more affordable in Canada, from the East Coast, to Ontario, to British Columbia (I have kids and/or other relatives in all three places - and several in the States).
Critical services are also woefully inadequate. In the hospital closest to us there is no doctor present - ever. If you go to the the ER they have to call the one who's 'on-call,' which is basically a death sentence for a trauma or heart-attack victim. We're talking about a community of 5,000+ people.
I could go on, but as beautiful as BC is, the economy and critical services are in a downward spiral and have been since 2008. And it's not going to get better any decade soon.
Last edited by Mahrie; 03-16-2014 at 12:03 AM..
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