Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada
British Columbia
Minimum wage going up
The general minimum wage rate in British Columbia will increase from $10.85 an hour to $11.35 on Sept. 15, the provincial government recently announced.
The rate hike includes a 20-cent increase, based on British Columbia’s 2016 consumer price index (CPI), as well as an extra 30 cents to account for strong economic growth in the province. Last year, the government began indexing minimum wage rates using increases in the province’s CPI for the previous year (rounded to the nearest nickel).
The minimum wage rate for liquor servers will also go up on Sept. 15 from $9.60 an hour to $10.10.
On that date, the government will also increase the minimum daily rate for live-in home-support workers and live-in camp leaders, the minimum monthly rates for resident caretakers, and the farm-worker piece rates. The rate changes will be proportionate to the general minimum hourly wage increases.
New Brunswick
Reminder: Minimum wage increased April 1
The New Brunswick government raised the province’s minimum wage rate on April 1 from $10.65 an hour to $11.00.
The government has been studying proposals for indexing the minimum wage rate and is expected to make legislative and/or regulatory changes this year to allow for it.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Reminder: Minimum wage increased April 1
The Newfoundland and Labrador government increased the province’s minimum wage rate on April 1 from $10.50 an hour to $10.75.
Gerry Byrne, the minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, said the government will raise the rate again on Oct. 1 to $11.00.
The government is also studying ways to index future minimum wage changes. It says it is looking at options such as using the consumer price index, average weekly earnings, low income cut off, and market basket measures to set the minimum wage rate.
Nova Scotia
Reminder: Minimum wage increased April 1
Minimum wage rates in Nova Scotia went up on April 1. The province adjusts its minimum wage rates every year based on the previous year’s national consumer price index.
The rate for experienced workers (those with at least three months’ experience) rose from $10.70 an hour to $10.85, while the rate for inexperienced workers (those with less than three months’ experience) increased from $10.20 per hour to $10.35.
Prince Edward Island
Minimum wage increased April 1
The Prince Edward Island government raised the province’s minimum wage rate on April 1 from $11.00 an hour to $11.25.
“Increasing minimum wage puts more money into the economy and into the pockets of Islanders,” said Sonny Gallant, Minister of Workforce and Advanced Learning.
The government previously raised the rate last year on Oct. 1, from $10.75 to $11.00.
Quebec
Stock option deduction going up
The Quebec Finance Ministry is proposing to increase a deduction that applies for stock option taxable benefits from 25 per cent of the value of the benefit to 50 per cent for shares of publicly traded large businesses that have a strong presence in Quebec.
The change would harmonize the tax rules in Quebec with those allowed under the federal income tax system.
Federal and Quebec tax law allow employees who receive a stock option taxable benefit from their employer or a person with whom the employer does not deal at arm’s length to deduct an amount equal to a percentage of the value of the benefit when calculating their annual taxable income if certain conditions apply.
For federal income tax, the deduction is 50 per cent. In Quebec, the deduction is 25 per cent for large businesses and 50 per cent for small and medium-sized businesses carrying on “innovative” activities in the province.
The Quebec Finance Ministry states that raising the deduction would enable Quebec to “offer the heads of large businesses a competitive fiscal environment compared to that in the rest of Canada.”
The new 50 per cent deduction rate would apply to any transaction, event or circumstance relating to stock options granted by a corporation that agrees after Feb. 21 to sell or issue a share of its capital stock or the capital stock of a corporation with which it does not deal at arm’s length to one of its employees or to an employee of a corporation with which it does not deal at arm’s length.
To qualify for the new 50 per cent deduction, the stock shares must belong to a class of shares listed on a recognized stock exchange and the corporation must have a total annual Quebec payroll of at least $10 million.
Payroll includes wages paid or deemed paid to employees who report to work at the employer’s establishment in Quebec and to those who do not report there, but who are paid from the employer’s establishment in Quebec.
The Finance Ministry says total wages paid or deemed paid would be calculated using the same rules that apply for determining an employer’s contribution to the province’s Health Services Fund.
Reminder: Minimum wage rates rising in May
The Quebec government will raise minimum wage rates over the next four years, beginning with a rate hike on May 1, Labour Minister Dominique Vien recently announced.
On May 1, the government will increase the general minimum wage rate from $10.75 an hour to $11.25. The rate will also apply for employees in certain sectors of the clothing industry. Vien also said the government plans to raise the general minimum wage rate to $11.75 in 2018, $12.10 in 2019 and $12.45 in 2020.
She said the rate for employees who receive tips will increase from $9.20 an hour to $9.45 on May 1. The rate will rise to $9.65 in 2018, $9.80 in 2019 and $9.95 in 2020.
The minimum wage rates for workers who pick berries will also go up on May 1. The rate for raspberry pickers will increase from $3.18 per kilogram to $3.33, while the rate for workers who pick strawberries will rise from 85 cents a kilogram to 89 cents. Vien did not specify future wage hikes for berry pickers.
