Holiday Pay Non-payment?

Location: Ontario, Canada

I started working for a company on March 27 2026. This company had me listed as a dispatcher. My employment contract that I signed basically said 6 months possible extension, remote work from home, part-time, fixed-term contract, my role overview, expected to work 5 hours daily, at 19.00/h mon through fri. My responsibilities, my expectations, confidentiality, termination clause (either party can terminate with 7 days notice or immediately in case of misconduct or violations etc.

I went from dispatch to Operations Manager fairly quickly handling B2B meetings, managing a team of 3 dispatchers, doing hiring interviews, handling company documents etc. I asked that my wage be increased to $19.60 (at the time) to comply with minimum wage standards for remote employees in my province. He agreed, and I have signed for an additional increase to meet those standards.

My boss wants me for more hours but will only pay me 50 biweekly on paper and he transfers me the rest I think to avoid taxes (he also only hires out of the Philippines as hes trying to conserve money i believe).

Anyway, it was a holiday on October 12th. I had booked off (and was approved in Teams Shifts) the 8th - 14th. This covered my time off and in the notes for the date of the 12th I put "Thanksgiving holiday".

All is well, until today when I get a message from him stating the following:

"I will not be paying for the holiday. As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a part-time position, and you’re paid for the hours you work. We don’t provide pay for holidays, and if you would, it would be the days that you worked.

If you have to work on a holiday, we can discuss compensation in advance. Depending on the arrangement, I may be able to offer additional pay, potentially double your regular rate, in line with our agreement and applicable Canadian requirements."

I want to add that my pays come through intuit biweekly with deductions you would expect for taxes, ei, pension, etc so I am not just a contract worker, I am a taxed hourly wage employee.

Today I discussed with him another pay increase to 19.70 per hour as the minimum went up to that early October.

Im not sure how to proceed, I am so angry right now.

Update:

I responded saying I was entitled basically and he said this

"I appreciate the work you’ve done here, and I’d like to clarify where things stand. We’re a small company, and while business is going well, some company matters are private. When you first joined, I supported payroll from my other job while the business was getting established, and I’ve continued to value your contribution.

Your contract has ended and hasn’t been renewed yet. If this a deal breaker for you to get paid for holidays, I’d be glad to discuss a new contract and review the policies together.

As we discussed when you started, this is an hourly position, and our policy is not to pay for holidays you don’t work. If i asked you to work on a holiday, we can discuss the compensation beforehand.

Xxxxz bonus was a company decision recognizing his longer service and was paid from company funds because of his moving. It wasn’t taken from your pay or anyone else’s.

I’m sorry this situation has left you feeling hurt. That wasn’t my intention, and I hope we can talk respectfully about the next steps."

The bonus hes referring to is $300 of free money he gave to an employee who wasnt receiving work (dispatched technician).