Can You Afford To Drive For Uber? + MORE Dec 8th

Volkswagen Canada has officially offered Canadian owners of vehicles caught up in the company’s emissions scandal a package of service credits worth $1,000, but still has few details on how exactly it plans to fix all those dirty engines.

TORONTO – The Ontario legislature is expected to pass a bill this afternoon that will make it illegal for employers to take a share of servers’ tips.
The Protecting Employees’ Tips Act, a Liberal private member’s bill that was introduced after several attempts from the NDP to get a similar law through, is set to pass third reading today.
It would ban employers from withholding their employees’ tips, except temporarily if they are pooling all of the gratuities to redistribute them among all employees.
How much to tip in 10 countries around the world »
The idea was brought forward years ago by Michael Prue, an NDP MPP who lost in the 2014 election, and picked up by Arthur Potts, the Liberal MPP who defeated him.
Potts says he has heard stories of employers taking 25 or even 50 per cent from the tip pool for themselves, and while he says it’s not very widespread, this bill levels the playing field for everyone.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says Potts has “watered down” the law by not banning employers from recovering credit card fees from the tip when a customer pays by credit card…

Driving for Uber, the come-and-get-me ride service that’s gutting the taxi industry through its smartphone app, sounds like one of the most attractive side jobs going. You set your own schedule, put in as many hours as you like, and get to talk endlessly about the merits of the gig economy.
Also read: 7 Ways to Earn Extra Cash for the Holidays>
But how much money can you actually expect to make? According to some estimates, drivers who log 20 hours behind the wheel every week can expect to gross as much as $400 to $500, assuming they’re working the peak periods. But this clearly varies from city to city.
Once you factor in the cost of gas, though, that gross number drops sharply. And, of course, gas isn’t your only expense.
Looking to offset your gas costs? Check out Canada’s top gas rewards credit cards>
Watch Out For Fines
Several cities are cracking down on Uber drivers, in some cases having bylaw officers book rides on the app and hand out fines to drivers who don’t have taxi licenses…

The expansion of credit card balances continued in October, marking eight straight months of growth, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

It uses the Paris talks to get credit for what it would do anyway.