Conservatives bend to NDP pressure on protections for interns in budget

On the eve of a vote on the NDP’s Intern Protection Act, the Conservatives finally bent to pressure and promised greater protections for unpaid interns in Budget 2015.

“It’s a clear copy and paste from the NDP’s Intern Protection Act which is already being debated in the House,” said NDP MP Andrew Cash (Davenport). “But as with most of the stolen NDP ideas in this budget the proof will be in the pudding – they can take action right away by supporting our bill.”

The NDP has been campaigning for better protections for interns for nearly two years. The Intern Protection Act (Bill C-636) – scheduled for a vote tonight – would extend workplace protections to unpaid interns and set clear rules to prevent exploitation. The bill would quickly fulfill the promise made in Budget 2015, but Conservatives have suggested they may vote against it anyway.

“If the Conservatives are really sincere about protecting interns, they will support my bill tonight,” said NDP MP Laurin Liu (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles). “I hope they won’t put political games over the opportunity to take real action to ensure that young workers have the rights they deserve.”