If we ignore the benefits of the gig economy, we risk making it worse for everyone

As the world of work continues to transform, app-based platforms have created new opportunities for people and businesses across Canada to participate in the economy, supplement traditional income streams, or reach new customers. As a result, we simply cannot ignore the multiple benefits the gig economy has brought to our lives.

In a recent op-ed in the Globe and Mail, our Senior Director, Future of Work, Diana Palmerín Velasco, explained why we need a balanced approach to regulating the gig economy, so that we can support those who are part of it without destroying it altogether.

Highlights from Diana’s op-ed:

• The past decade has been transformative, driven by the proliferation of smartphones and the digitalization of our society – and our economy. Most notably, app-based platforms have revolutionized the way services are provided and expanded the gig economy’s reach into various sectors such as ridesharing, food and grocery delivery, home repairs and more.
• These apps have also created new opportunities for people and businesses across Canada to participate in the economy, supplement traditional income streams, or reach new customers.
• What makes the gig economy so different from other parts of our economy is precisely what makes it so valuable to consumers, workers and businesses.
• Today, app-based work in Canada is robust and invaluable. In 2023, close to half a million people worked through a digital platform or app, including an estimated 250,000 Canadians providing ride or delivery services.
• Thousands of Canadians continue to be drawn to this kind of work because it allows them to reach their financial goals in a way that is flexible, on their own terms, and without the constraints of traditional employment.
• There is a need to ensure standards are in place that reflect the evolving nature of gig work, while protecting the flexibility and economic opportunity that workers, businesses and consumers have come to rely on.
• The gig economy is essential to our current and future business environment – exactly because it is unique and disruptive in a way that drives innovation and creates new opportunity. It would be a failure to Canadians to forget this and advance blunt, wholesale regulation that fails to preserve everything the gig economy has to offer.