John Turley-Ewart is a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail, a regulatory compliance consultant and a Canadian banking historian.

This is the most difficult time of the year for the 1.5-million unemployed in this country. Moments of gratitude and plenty are for them days of anxiety and exclusion.

An impending New Year in the past might have fostered hope for better luck to come, yet it is diminished today by the chasm between those seeking work and those hiring.

That gulf’s measure, one that compromises labour mobility and trust, is ghosting – never communicating with job applicants, suddenly cutting off all communications post interview, and posting fake jobs.

What was once unprofessional is now structural, a labour-market deficiency that artificial intelligence is exacerbating.

Opinion: ‘Ghost jobs,’ where companies put up ads but don’t actually want to hire anyone

To address this, Ontario wants to legislate common decency with Bill 190, which comes into effect on Jan. 1. Its “Duty to Inform” legislation targets........

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