I agree. A contracted agreement is also a must have to definitively identify who is responsible for what. The more expenses that the carrier pays for the O/O, the closer he/she is to be identified as an employee. The labour board and WSIB also look to see who controls the payments and who owns the truck. If the carrier, or an arms length company of the carrier, owns the truck and also has a large control over the amount of pay (miles/drops etc) that is being paid, it may be decided that the O/O is an employee.Hi. I might like to pipe in here. I am certainly not an expert in the field. But, I don't think that it matters much whether the owner-operator is incorporated or working as a sole proprietor. I believe they look at criteria such as, who owns the truck, who pays for repair and maintenance of the truck, does the owner-operator have the freedom to turn down any loads, does the owner-operator pay for fuel, etc. They are looking for ways to prove that the owner-operator is working at an arm's length and I don't believe that being incorporated is a necessity to prove this. This has just been my experience.
In other words, you cannot buy a truck, come up with some lease option to a driver, control how much money is being paid out and still have a vested interest in the largest asset of the O/O. CRA/Labour Board/WSIB have caught on to this and have identified that this is just a method to make money off a person without having to deal with payroll or WSIB labour codes.
