Federal election promises

Canadians go to the polls on Oct. 19 and each of the main parties has made a number of promises, many with implications for payroll departments. Here is a look at where the Conservatives, the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Liberals and the Green Party stand on payroll-related issues.

Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

The NDP, Liberals and Green Party

are all calling for increasing CPP benefits, with the Greens advocating for phasing in a doubling of the plan’s target income
replacement rate from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.

The parties have not said how much they would need to increase CPP contributions to fund benefit improvements.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair says he would meet with provincial/territorial premiers, as well as business and labour leaders, within six months of taking office to come up with ways to expand the CPP.

The Conservatives oppose CPP benefit enhancements because they say CPP contributions would have to go up to fund them.

Instead, the Conservatives will continue to consult on the possibility of allowing individuals to make additional, voluntary contributions to the CPP. The consultations include looking at what role, if any, employers should play in collecting and remitting voluntary contributions.

The Conservatives say, if re-elected, they will follow through on their plan to lower EI premiums from $1.88 per $100 of insurable earnings to $1.49 by 2017. The reduction would come from a new mechanism for setting EI rates, which the Conservatives say would ensure EI premiums are no higher than necessary to pay for the EI program over time.

The Liberals say they would cut EI premiums from $1.88 to $1.65 in 2017 as it would reduce "payroll costs for employers and employees while ensuring we can invest in strengthening employment insurance."

The Liberals also promise to reduce the waiting period for EI benefits from two weeks to one week and to eliminate a requirement that new workers and those re-entering the workforce after a two-year absence accumulate at least 910 hours of insurable employment to qualify for regular EI benefits.

The party also promises to make EI parental benefits more flexible by allowing parents to receive the benefits in smaller blocks of time over an 18-month period or take a longer leave at a lower benefit rate. The Liberals say they would work with the provinces and territories to get them to amend their labour standards legislation for maternity and parental leave to reflect these changes.

Currently, EI maternity benefits are paid for a maximum period of 15 weeks. Benefits are not paid beyond 17 weeks after the expected or actual week of childbirth, whichever is later. EI parental benefits are paid for a maximum of 35 weeks, with payments made within 52 weeks of the week the child is born or placed with the individual for adoption.

The Liberals also say they would expand EI compassionate care benefits to include individuals who need to take time off work to provide care for a seriously ill family member. Currently, compassionate care benefits are only for eligible individuals who take time off work to care for a gravely ill family member at risk of dying within 26 weeks.

The NDP say they would extend and increase access to EI benefits for compassionate care leave. At the time of writing, the NDP had not made any specific campaign promises on EI premiums.

The Green Party has said it would use taxes collected on chemical contaminants and unhealthy food to reduce EI premiums for workers and employers. It did not specify how much it would lower premiums.

If elected to form government, the Liberals promise to reduce personal income tax rates for some and raise them for others. The party would lower the current 22 per cent tax rate for those with annual taxable income between $44,700 and $89,401 to 20.5 per cent.

It also pledges to implement a new tax rate of 33 per cent for individuals with annual taxable income over $200,000.

The Conservatives say they will not raise taxes if re-elected. Mulcair has said the NDP does not favour increases to personal income tax rates.

The Green Party has said in the past it would eliminate personal income taxes on incomes of $20,000 or less.

The New Democrats promise to reinstate a federal minimum wage and to increase it to $15 an hour by the end of its first term in office.

The Green Party is also calling for a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage. It also wants to amend the Canada Labour Code to increase the minimum amount of vacation time for federally regulated workers from two weeks to three weeks and reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 35.

Green Party policy documents say the party would also like to increase federal inspections and establish stronger deterrents to illegal, unpaid overtime work under the code.

In addition, it would strengthen non-union workers’ rights and protections under the code and ensure the legislation provides protection for contract and temporary workers.

The Liberals are also promising labour standards changes. They say they want to amend the code to allow federally regulated workers to be able to request more flexible working conditions, without fear of reprisal.

Flexible working conditions could include variable start and end times and the ability to work from home.

The NDP promises to lower the age for receiving Old Age Security (OAS) benefits from 67 years to 65 and to make a "modest" increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

In 2012, the Conservative government announced changes to the OAS that will increase the age at which individuals are eligible to receive OAS benefits from 65 to 67.

The change will be made gradually between April 2023 and January 2029.

Green Party policy documents say the party would like to increase the GIS by 25 per cent. Other pension reforms it would consider include risk sharing for pension plans, including the CPP, to ensure their sustainability, and reforms to pension legislation to better protect pension benefits from the failure of pension trusts.

Both the Liberals and the NDP say they would roll back the tax-free savings account (TFSA) contribution limit to $5,500. The Conservative government raised the limit to $10,000 earlier this year.

The Conservatives say they would expand the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit and continue to improve federal support for skills training. The tax credit currently provides a 10 per cent non-refundable tax credit to businesses on wages paid to qualifying apprentices in the first two years of their contract, up to $2,000.

The Conservatives say they would increase the maximum credit to $2,500 and extend the tax credit to the third and fourth years of apprenticeship training.

The Green Party says it supports a number of job recruitment and training measures, including banning unpaid internships, ending the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and increasing access to apprentice programs in trades such as electricity, plumbing, carpentry, pipefitting and welding, among others.

The Green Party also says it supports the creation of a domestic employment recruitment program for young Canadians "modelled on how we have been bringing foreign workers to Canadian employers."