The Treasury Board is currently reviewing why a dozen federal agencies and departments are ignoring a federal policy by not paying some of their interns. According to the CBC, the Treasury Board of Canada must ensure interns accepted for federal positions are paid, unless an academic program or co-op placement forbids the intern from receiving payment.
The list of federal organizations employing unpaid interns includes the Canadian Space Agency, the Depatrment of National Defence, and Public Safety Canada, among several others.
Unpaid internships are unacceptable. These organizations should be paying their interns, especially since they represent the federal government.
Many students are already struggling with student debt, while some students are also balancing part-time work. If you add a full-time, unpaid internship into the equation, the stress of paying back student debt is likely to increase. In addition, most students aren’t going to be able to balance a part-time job with an unpaid internship. That means they must either sacrifice a paid position or sacrifice relevant work experience.
It’s unreasonable to expect anyone to work for a long period of time without receiving a paycheque. It’s also worth questioning whether an organization is offering valuable experience or exploiting student labour.
An unpaid internship can be justifiable if the placement is only for a week or two. However, if the internship is longer, there is no excuse for offering zero pay.
The federal government needs to ensure that all interns are paid for the amount of work they put into their positions.
