Legislative Roundup

Alberta 

Province consulting on labour changes for farm workers

The provincial government has set up six working groups to develop recommendations on how employment standards, occupational health and safety and labour relations should be applied to employers and employees in the agriculture sector.

The consultations stem from legislative changes that the Alberta legislature passed late last year to provide better workplace protections for paid employees working on farms and ranches. Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, amended the Workers’ Compensation Regulation to remove a number of farming-related industries from a list of those exempt from workers’ compensation coverage, effective Jan. 1. 

The Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) gave employers in those industries that employ paid workers until April 30 to set up a WCB account. The legislation also amended the Employment Standards Code to repeal exemptions from a number of provisions for employees employed on a farm or ranch whose jobs are directly related to the primary production of eggs, milk, grain, seeds, fruit, vegetables, honey, livestock, bees, poultry, etc. 

The government says the employment standards amendments will not take effect until it consults with industry groups on exemptions that may be required in unique situations. Once in force, the changes will protect these workers under the code’s provisions for hours of work, overtime, statutory holidays, vacations and minimum wage, among others. 

Newfoundland and Labrador

Government raises threshold for new levy

Just weeks after announcing a new levy to help reduce the provincial deficit, the Newfoundland and Labrador government raised the threshold for the tax.

In the April 14 provincial budget, Finance Minister and Treasury Board President Cathy Bennett announced that as of July 1, the province would implement a Temporary Deficit Reduction Levy on individuals with taxable incomes greater than $20,000. The levy, which employers would collect from employees through income tax source deductions, would range from $0 to $900 a year, depending on an individual’s taxable income. 

In late May, the government announced that after reaching an agreement with the federal government that will allow the province to defer equalization repayments it owes, it could afford to raise the threshold for the levy to $50,000 from $20,000.

In addition, the government said it has changed the amount of the levy that individuals have to pay. The range for the levy is now $0 to $1,800, but individuals with higher incomes will pay substantially more than those with annual incomes closer to $50,000. 

For example, a person with a taxable income of $55,000 will pay an annual levy of $100, down from $600 under the original plan. For an individual with a taxable income of $300,000, the levy will now be $1,100 instead of $900. 

For those earning $625,000 or more, the levy will rise to $1,800 from the previously announced $900.

The CRA has revised its payroll deductions tables and computer formulas to incorporate the new measures. With the Newfoundland and Labrador government announcing the changes only weeks before the July 1 implementation date, the CRA says it recognizes that employers will have to make the changes “on a best-effort basis where practical, in full appreciation of the different payroll systems and administrative capabilities of employers.”

Ontario

Legislature passes ORPP bill

The Ontario government has moved another step closer to implementing its new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP).

In early June, the Legislative Assembly passed Bill 186, the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act (Strengthening Retirement Security for Ontarians), 2016. It sets out the requirements for who would have to contribute to the ORPP, who would be exempt, how contributions and benefits would be calculated, employer responsibilities and penalties for not complying with ORPP rules.

The government says the ORPP will help the two-thirds of Ontario workers it says do not have a workplace pension plan to better save for their retirement.

It will begin enrolling employers in the ORPP next January, with contributions beginning in 2018. Participation in the plan will be mandatory for employees aged 18 years to 70 years who are employed in Ontario and who do not take part in a workplace pension plan that is comparable to the ORPP, as well as their employer.

Contributions will be calculated in a similar way to CPP contributions, with employers and employees equally paying into the plan. An annual basic exemption of $3,500 will apply and both employees and employers will contribute up to an annual maximum pensionable earnings amount. The maximum will be adjusted each year for changes in the province’s average wage. 

For 2018, the maximum will be set as though it were $90,000 in 2017. The government says it will phase in contributions to the plan between 2018 and 2021.

In 2018, large and medium-size employers without registered workplace pension plans will begin contributing at a contribution rate of 0.8 per cent. The rate will rise to 1.6 per cent in 2019 and to 1.9 per cent in 2020. Small employers without registered workplace pension plans will begin paying into the ORPP in 2019, with the rate set at 0.8 per cent. It will rise to 1.6 per cent in 2020 and to 1.9 per cent in 2021. 

Employers with registered plans that do not meet an ORPP comparability test will have to begin paying contributions in 2020, with the rate set at 1.9 per cent. The government has not yet said which types of earnings it will include for calculating ORPP contributions.

 A list of pensionable earnings is expected to be included in regulations under the Act.

Saskatchewan

Government pledges compassionate care changes

The Saskatchewan government says it will table legislation during the current legislative session to increase the number of weeks off work that employees may take for a compassionate care leave.

In the Throne Speech to open the first session of the 28th Legislature, the government said it would amend the Saskatchewan Employment Act to increase the period of unpaid leave for compassionate care to 28 weeks from eight weeks.

The change would align Saskatchewan’s compassionate care leave standards with amendments to the Employment Insurance Act made earlier this year that extended the period in which eligible individuals may receive Employment Insurance compassionate care benefits to 26 weeks from six weeks. Claimants must serve a two-week unpaid waiting period before the federal government begins paying the benefits.

Yukon

Territory considering new statutory holiday

The territorial government is asking for public input on the possibility of making June 21, National Aboriginal Day, a statutory holiday in Yukon.

“National Aboriginal Day is a day for all people in Yukon to celebrate and recognize the rich heritage, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal peoples in our territory and across the country,” Minister of Community Services Currie Dixon said in a news release. 

“Work needs to be done before we can consider whether to recognize it as a new statutory paid holiday in Yukon and this will take some time.”

To provide feedback, the government is asking businesses, organizations and individuals to take part in an online survey until July 16. The survey can be found at www.community.gov.yk.ca/es.html. 

Currently, the Northwest Territories is the only jurisdiction in Canada that has made National Aboriginal Day a statutory holiday.