Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada
Federal
Government expected to implement new EI benefit this month
The federal government is expected to launch a new employment insurance (EI) parental sharing benefit on March 17.
The new measure will provide an extra five weeks of EI parental benefits for parents who agree to share the program’s standard 35 weeks of parental benefits, for a total of 40 weeks.
For parents opting for the program’s extended parental benefit of 61 weeks, the new measure will provide an additional eight weeks of benefits if the parents agree to share the leave, for a total of 69 weeks.
If the federal government implements the new benefit on March 17, parents of children born or placed for adoption on or after that date would be eligible for it.
In December, Parliament passed legislation to create the new benefit. It also amended the Canada Labour Code (CLC) to allow for additional parental leave for federally regulated employees who opt for the new benefit.
Under the amended CLC rules, if more than one employee takes parental leave for the same birth or adoption, the Code will allow for a leave of up to 71 weeks. The maximum amount of parental leave that one employee may take for the same birth or adoption will remain 63 weeks.
The maximum combined maternity and parental leave that more than one employee may take for the same birth or adoption will be 86 weeks. The maximum amount of combined maternity and parental leave that one employee may take for the same birth or adoption will remain 78 weeks.
Manitoba
Deadline nears for payroll levy annual report
Employers who pay the provincial Health and Post Secondary Education Tax Levy must file an annual report with the provincial Finance Department by April 1 this year.
The department uses the report to reconcile an employer’s annual payroll with the tax levy it paid for the year.
The report is normally due by March 31, but since that date falls on a Sunday this year, it is due by the next business day.
Along with the annual return, employers must submit a cheque for any amount owing (unless paying online), a copy of the applicable T4 and T4A summaries, and a summary of any contributions to an employee profit-sharing plan or an employee trust.
They must also include a reconciliation of the difference between the remuneration shown on the annual return and the amounts reported on the T4 and T4A summaries.
In addition, employers who are part of an associated corporation or corporate partnership must designate one corporation to file a Schedule for Associated Corporations/Corporate Partnerships.
The province mails the report form to employers registered for the tax. Those who have not received one should contact the Taxation Division. A penalty of up to $200 may be assessed for each day after the due date that the report is late.
New Brunswick
Minimum wage increase expected for April
The New Brunswick government is expected to raise the province’s minimum wage rate on April 1.
Last year, the province began indexing the minimum wage rate to increases in the consumer price index for New Brunswick, with wage adjustments to occur on April 1 every year. Currently, the minimum wage rate is $11.25 an hour.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Minimum wage expected to rise next month
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is expected to raise the province’s minimum wage rate on April 1.
Last year, the province began indexing the minimum wage rate to increases in the consumer price index for Canada, with wage adjustments to occur on April 1 every year.
Currently, the minimum wage rate is $11.15 an hour.
Nova Scotia
Minimum wage rates going up
The general minimum wage rate in Nova Scotia will rise from $11 an hour to $11.55 on April 1, the provincial government recently announced.
The rate applies to employees with at least three months of experience. The rate for employees with less than three months of experience will increase from $10.50 per hour to $11.05.
The provincial government recently amended regulations under its Labour Standards Code to allow for the rate changes.
On April 1 in 2019, 2020, and 2021, the government will raise the minimum wage for experienced workers by $0.30 an hour, plus an adjustment for percentage changes in the projected annual consumer price index for the previous calendar year. The results will be rounded to the nearest $0.05.
The minimum wage rate for inexperienced workers will continue to be $0.50 less per hour than the rate for experienced workers.
Regular indexing without the additional $0.30 an hour increase will resume as of April 1, 2022.
Similar changes will apply to the minimum wage for employees covered by the province’s minimum wage orders for construction and property maintenance and for logging and forest operations.
Ontario
Annual EHT report due by March 15
Employers who are required to pay the province’s Employer Health Tax (EHT) must file their annual return with Ontario’s Finance Ministry no later than March 15.
The ministry uses the form to calculate the employer’s total EHT owing for the previous year. For employers who remit the tax in monthly instalments, the ministry uses the form to compare the instalments already paid for the year with the total tax due to determine if there is a refund owing or a balance due.
The Finance Ministry mails employers a personalized annual return. Employers who have not yet received it, should contact the ministry. All employers who receive an annual return must complete it and return it to the ministry even if they do not have any EHT payable.
Employers who are members of an associated group must also submit an Associated Employers Exemption Allocation form. Only one employer in the group is required to do so.
WSIB form due by month’s end
Employers who pay monthly premiums to Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for workers’ compensation coverage must file an annual Reconciliation form with the WSIB by the end of the month.
The WSIB uses the form to compare the employer’s actual earnings for the previous year with the amounts the employer reported monthly throughout the year.
The board mails the form to registered employers. Employers who have not received it should contact the board.
Quebec
Base wage rising
The province’s general minimum wage rate will rise from $12 an hour to $12.50 on May 1, Labour Minister Jean Boulet recently announced.
With the increase, the rate will be, for the first time, half of the province’s average hourly wage rate, which was $24.92 in 2018.
Other minimum wage rates in Quebec will also go up on May. 1. The rate for employees who receive tips will rise from 9.80 per hour to $10.05. The rate for workers who pick raspberries will increase from $3.56/kilogram to $3.71, and the rate for those who pick strawberries will go up from $0.95/kilogram to $0.99.
Last year, the government eliminated a separate minimum wage rate for employees in specified sectors of the clothing industry.
