The Uber-ization of the Canadian economy

Living in Singapore a few years ago, Drew Currahhad a tough time finding tradespeople to fix his air conditioning and help him with an electrical problem. His challenge finding contractors, coupled with his job working for a firm that investsin U.S. Silicon Valley tech companies, helped him come up with a business idea.

He moved to Edmonton and, along with some friends, developed Trade Pros a mobile phone app thatallows people to post their repair and renovation jobs and contractors to bid on them.

It's terribly cliche now, but "theUberof X'"is happening all over the place.- Bill Wilson, MindSea

"This was a few years ago when Uber and AirBnb were becoming quite popular for disrupting their industries," said Currah.

At the beginning of this year, the app had600 contractors signed up, 1,500 people with accounts,and 600 jobsposted, worth about $2.5 million dollars.

The projects can be small like appliance installation orpainting but canalso include much largerjobs, such as basement renovations orinstallingnew flooringin a few dozen apartments.

Trade Pros, which is expanding into Calgary in the coming months,is just one of the many new mobileappspopping up across the country that's changing the way people buy products and services. Theappscould create structural change, not only in their individual industries, but toCanada's economy and workforce.

Wide range ofapps

The range of services on offer from thesestartups is remarkable. Users canrent someone's parking space in Toronto withRover Parking, book a cleaner for a home in Calgary using Ask for Task, or arrange for a haircut intheir Halifax office usingCribcut.

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In many instances it is increasing the rise of precarious workers who just don't have any job security.- Leslie Shade, University of Toronto

There's even Klothed, a men's clothing app that allows users to upload aphoto, choose theirbody type and browse clothing in a personalized way to see how a shirt could look on them, instead of on a catalogue model.

Klothedwasbuilt for a client by MindSea, a Halifax-based mobile app developer thatbuilds programs for startups and other businesses.

"It takes that shopping experience and turns it on its head and makes it more social," said Bill Wilson, CEO and founder of MindSea. He has seen first-hand the rapid rise of startups that generate all of their businesson mobile apps.

"These concepts have extended further to services and products. For example, we've always been able to look in the Yellow Pages for a plumber, but now there are sites that are dedicated to helping find a plumber you can trust."

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The Uber of ______

Many of the startups arepart of the so-called sharing economy or gig economy, like Uber, AirBnB and others.

"It's terribly cliche now, but 'the Uber of X' is happening all over the place," says Wilson."You can imagine how this can get into various different fields, whether it is retail or medical or any of the services like professional trades any of those types of things can really benefit from a network like this."

In addition, many of the new mobileappsin Canadafocus onoffering on-demand services to suit a customer's schedule.

That's the motivation behindMowSnowPros, a mobile app that connects home owners with people who provide grass cutting and snow shoveling in Calgary. A customer posts the description and price for a job, and contractors in the area respond to the request. During a recent snowstorm in the city, about 100 people used the app to get help clearing snow.

"Seeing the rise in Uber-type models and that sharing economy, I thought it would be a good application to give people that avenue to make their own dollarand their own landscaping business as well," said founderAidanKlingbeil.

People usually offerbetween $15 and $40, depending on the size of their walkways and driveways, althoughKlingbeilsays the higher-paying gigsusually receive quicker service during a heavy snow.

Court challenges and broken laws

While most of these mobile appsoperate legally, some have caused problems for provincial and municipal governments because of the regulatory issues they present.

If someone decides to rent out their room on AirBnB, should they have to pay a tourism tax imposed on hotels? If you drive a car for Uber, do you need the same licence and insurance as a taxi driver? If you rent out four parking spots on Rover, are you essentially running a commercial parking lot?

Some of these services have been called illegal, while others have deliberatelyignored city bylaws. Former Ontario MPP Tim Hudak hadproposed legislation to embrace the sharing economy and legalize firms like Uber, instead of trying to fight them.

Critics have raised concerns about how services like Ubercreate more part-time or freelance workers, instead of full-time employees with benefits. There is uncertainty about who will the cover the cost ofhealth care, employment insurance, Old Age Security and othersocial services since many of these programs are traditionally paid for byemployers and employees.

"If theyare not considered employees, they don't have health benefits, they don't have a pension plan, they have no stability, said Leslie Shade, a University of Toronto professor who researches mobile technology. "In many instances it is increasing the rise of precarious workers who just don't have any job security."

Around the world there are several court challenges involvingUberthatfocuson whether drivers are contractors or employees.

For every mobile app like Uber that finds success there is increased work for freelance drivers and less business for taxi companies. The same applies for other industries where a mobile app can disrupt the sector and lead to fewer people working for traditional landscaping companies and hair salons, for example, and more independent contractors bidding on jobs.

The changing ways people buy products and services will no doubt shape the future of the workforce.

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