What sort of benefits do you guys get?

I'll start - I get:
Paid vacation
Paid sick
Medical, dental, optical, life, long term disability, travel insurance
Education costs reimbursed

Is it the same across all provinces & jobs?

I get a flat hourly rate for hours actually worked and nothing else.

Is that standard in Toronto?

I don't think so, no. It's more an industry thing, paying people hourly provides tax advantages for the workers and flexibility advantages for the employer as most employment law doesn't apply.

I believe in Alberta at least it is not the fact that you are payed hourly that gives you tax advantages and exempts you from most labour law but the fact that there are no real employees. Everyone is basically self-employed.

When a past employer made me a similar suggestion, I said no. Although Alberta isn't overly generous when it comes to unemployment benefit, I decided that I wanted some sort of security. Workers comp was a factor too.

I used to get all those things.

Now I am on permanent vacation (paid of course).

Still have medical, optical and life insurance.

More or less. Here we're all actually employees of our own companies, usually numbered ones. The typical arrangement is that one forms a firm which is a subcontractor to an agency which deals with a client. The client pays n dollars an hour, the agency keeps a chunk and the remainder flows the personal corporation. How the money leaves the personal corporation for the personal pocket is a complicated matter usually involving paying many people a little bit each so as to use up their tax allowances.

Each to their own. I've worked this way since 1986 and would now find it very strange to be paid not to work; my taking a vacation is of no value to my employer.

That seems to be pretty common here - employers continue to pay benefits into retirement - makes a big difference to the quality of life when you get to that big long vacation.