At least 100,000 young Canadians are working as unpaid interns — with an unknown number of others missing out on key, early work experience because they cannot afford to go without a paycheque.
Liberal MP Scott Brison is on a mission to raise awareness of the issue. He's calling on the federal government to measure the scope of the unpaid workforce, identify acceptable unpaid work placements and legislate changes to protect an increasingly "vulnerable generation."
Brison is all too familiar with stories of talented Canadians missing out on job opportunities early in their careers because they cannot afford to work for free.
Carrie O'Marra, for example, may not be able to receive her radio broadcasting college diploma in October, despite completing all of her coursework.
The 48-year-old mother, saddled with student loan debt and caring for her ailing parent, cannot afford to do unpaid work. Yet her school requires students in her program to complete a 160-hour internship — many of which are not paid.
"I take care of my mom who has Alzheimer's and working for nothing is simply not an option," says O'Marra. "I have an adult life with adult expenses."
Brison says he doesn't want to see this become an issue where, "children of privileged families get a permanent leg up in the workforce and on their career over everyone else."
But, not all unpaid interns come from upper-class families.
Student organizations and lobbyists estimate between 100,000 and 300,000 Canadians work without bringing home a paycheque. Statistics Canada does not track unpaid internships.
Some of those hundreds of thousands of interns subsidize their internships by juggling multiple jobs or taking out larger loans.
With a tight job market and heavy demand on youth to accumulate workplace experience, Brison says many young people can feel forced into taking these increasingly available unpaid positions — even if they cannot afford to do so.
O'Marra begrudgingly admits she will have to find a way to make such a one-month gig fit into her life. Still, she wonders if an internship is the best use of her time, having heard horror stories from some of her younger classmates.
"A lot of them just fetch coffee, and photocopy and file," she says, calling the practice "exploitation."
Brison agrees that unpaid interns are replacing some paid Canadian workers.
Carley, who asked for her last name not to be published, has seen it first-hand. She worked in a Toronto company's head office and often managed its interns. During her 1.5 years of employment there, Carley says the company had about eight interns, each for a three-month stint.
At first, the interns were extra workers. However, when a receptionist left, Carley says a revolving door of interns filled the vacancy.
The seemingly elusive positive and legal internships do exist. Brison says such internships:
Train a young person in transferable skills that can help them in their early career.
Do not displace or replace a paid worker.
To help identify illegal internships, Brison says "we really need to have clearer standards, and those are lacking today" or young Canadians "can stand to be exploited."
B.C. and Ontario recently released clarifications on what constitutes a legal unpaid internship in those provinces. Their new guidelines agree with Brison's assessment of internships needing to provide practical training without displacing paid workers.
