Legislative roundup: Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada

Canada

CRA sets annual interest rates for amounts owed

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced the prescribed annual interest rates that will apply to any amounts owed to the CRA and to any amounts the CRA owes to individuals and corporations. Rates are calculated quarterly in accordance with applicable legislation and will be in effect from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. For income tax, the interest rate charged on overdue taxes, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions and employment insurance (EI) premiums will be five per cent. The interest rate to be paid on corporate taxpayers overpayments will be one per cent. The interest rate to be paid on non corporate taxpayers overpayments will be three per cent. The interest rate used to calculate taxable benefits for employees and shareholders from interest-free and low-interest loans will be one per cent.

Yukon

Yukon decreases WCB assessment rates

Yukon employers will see a decrease in assessment rates for all groups in 2012, according to the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board (YWCHSB). Improving safety practices and return to work outcomes for injured workers are contributing to the prevention of disabilities. These are the key factors that led to the board’s decision to lower rates, according to the YWCHSB. The board was able to lower the amount of administration costs within the average assessment rate for 2012 to $1.04 from $1.10 in 2011. This also contributed to the board’s decision to set the average target assessment rate for 2012 at $2.39 compared to $2.49 in 2011. Specific assessment rates are established based on an actuarial analysis of claims costs and assessable payroll. Strong economic growth in Yukon in 2011 has led to year-end projected numbers of about 600 additional employers and about 2,600 more workers in 2011 compared to 2010. Despite these increases, the lost-time injury rate is expected to remain constant or lower than the 2010 rate of about 2.2 per 100 covered workers, according to the YWCHSB. The nine rate groups will receive rate decreases ranging from five per cent to 22 per cent, with an average decrease for all industry groups of 13.4 per cent.

Northwest Territories

Employees entitled to reservist leave

Members of Canada’s reserve force in the Northwest Territories who are required to be away from work for service will soon be able to take unpaid reservist leave. Amendments to the Employment Standards Act that will allow for the leave come into effect on July 2, 2012. They are contained in Bill 21, which received third reading on Aug. 18. Based on the first reading version of the bill, employees would be eligible for the leave if they have been employed by their employer for at least six consecutive months. The leave would apply for reservists who are required to be away from work for service with the reserves. Service would include taking part in military operations, exercises and training or other military activities and treatment, recovery or rehabilitation of physical or mental health issues resulting from the military activity. Employees who plan to take the leave are required to give their employer at least four weeks’ notice in writing or at the earliest opportunity if they cannot give four weeks. In the notice, the employee would have must include the date the leave was to begin and the expected date that it will end. The employer may ask the employee to provide a certificate from a reserve force official verifying that the employee is in the reserves and is needed for service. Employees are allowed to be on leave for the period required for the service. If the date of return changes, the employee must inform the employer in writing of the new date.

British Columbia

B.C. voters trash HST

The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in British Columbia is no more. The province held a referendum on the tax, and 54 per cent of voters said scrap it. B.C. brought the HST in on July 1, 2010. It blended the seven per cent provincial sales tax with the five per cent federal GST. But the population voiced strong displeasure at the blending of the taxes, and in response the government held a referendum. Slightly more than 1.6 million people voted in the referendum, according to Elections BC. A B.C. government panel estimated the HST was costing families an extra $350 per year. The transition period back to the PST/GST system is expected to take a minimum of 18 months. During this period, the provincial portion of the HST will remain in place at seven per cent. During the transition period, the government will provide quarterly updates on the progress of returning to the PST, according to the province.

Alberta

Alberta announces WCB maximum insurable earnings

The province’s workers’ compensation board has announced that its maximum insurable earnings for 2012 will be $86,700. The 2011 ceiling in the province was $82,800.

Manitoba

Minimum wage increase

Manitoba’s minimum wage rate rose from $9.50 per hour to $10 starting Oct. 1.

Ontario

WSIB sets maximum earnings for 2012

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has announced the maximum assessable/insurable earnings for 2012. The maximum next year will be $81,700, a $1,900 increase from last year’s ceiling which was $79,600.

New Brunswick

Minimum wage increase postponed annual interest rates for amounts owed

The provincial government has postponed for seven months a planned increase to the province’s minimum wage rate. The rate was set to rise to $10.00 per hour on Sept. 1, 2011 but the increase was be delayed until April 1, 2012, to give small- and medium-sized businesses more time to adjust to minimum wage changes, Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Martine Coulombe said. As a result of the delay, the province’s minimum wage rate will remain $9.50 per hour until April 1, 2012, when it will rise to $10. The minimum wage rate for employees whose hours of work per week are unverifiable and who are not strictly employed on a commission basis will remain $418 per week until April 1, 2012, when it will rise to $440.

Nova Scotia

Minimum wage changed

Nova Scotia’s minimum wage rates went up effective Oct. 1. The general minimum wage rate increased from $9.65 per hour to $10, while the rate for inexperienced workers (those employed less than three months) rose from $9.15 per hour to $9.50.

WCB rates will remain stable

Workers’ compensation assessment rates will remain relatively stable for 2012, according to the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) of Nova Scotia. For the eighth consecutive year, the average rate is $2.65 per $100 of assessable payroll. Of the 18,000 employers covered by the WCB, 37 per cent will see their rate go down or stay the same and 63 per cent will see an increase. Rates are significantly decreasing in a number of industries including fish processing, construction infrastructure, electrical work, hospitals and nursing homes. The WCB is exploring several enhancements to the rate setting model. The WCB issues surcharges to employers whose claims costs are significantly and consistently higher than their industry peers. In 2012, 96 employers will have a surcharge, up from 92 in 2011. To be surcharged, an employer’s claims costs must be at least three times their industry average for at least four consecutive years. Surcharges are cumulative and can add an additional 20 per cent to a firm’s base rate each year.

Nova Scotia announces WCB maximum insurable earnings

The province’s workers’ compensation board has announced that its maximum insurable earnings for 2012 will be $53,900. The 2011 ceiling in the province was $52,000.

Prince Edward Island

Minimum wage increase

Prince Edward Island’s minimum wage rate rose from $9.30 an hour to $9.60 on Oct. 1. The minimum wage will go up again on April 1, 2012, to $10 per hour.