[37] Bill 68 Original (PDF)
Bill 68 2003
An Act to amend the
provisions of certain Acts
respecting the age of retirement
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
Audit Act
1. Section 4 of the Audit Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Tenure of office and removal
4. The Auditor holds office until he or she resigns, unless he or she is removed for cause by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the address of the Assembly.
Election Act
2. Clause 7 (10) (a) of the Election Act is repealed.
Health Protection
and Promotion Act
3. Section 65 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act is repealed.
Human Rights Code
4. (1) Section 5 of the Human Rights Code, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1999, chapter 6, section 28 and 2001, chapter 32, section 27, is amended by adding the following subsections:
Collective agreements, transitional
(3) The right under this section to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of age is not infringed by a term or condition of employment that requires an employee to retire upon reaching a certain age or by any action taken in accordance with such a term or condition of employment, if the term or condition is in a collective agreement that was in operation on May 29, 2003 and the employee is required to retire while that collective agreement is still in operation.
Restriction on extension
(4) If a collective agreement that was in operation on May 29, 2003 is extended by agreement of the parties made after May 29, 2003, subsection (3) does not apply with respect to the period of the extension.
Definition
(5) In subsections (3) and (4),
"collective agreement" means,
(a) a collective agreement under the Labour Relations Act, 1995, the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act, 1993, or the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, or
(b) an agreement under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, Part VIII of the Police Services Act or Part II of the Public Service Act.
(2) The definition of "age" in subsection 10 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
"age" means an age that is 18 years or more; ("âge")
Ombudsman Act
5. Section 4 of the Ombudsman Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1999, chapter 5, section 4, is repealed and the following substituted:
Term of office and removal
4. The Ombudsman shall hold office for a term of five years and may be reappointed for a further term or terms, but is removable at any time for cause by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the address of the Assembly.
Public Service Act
6. Section 17 of the Public Service Act is repealed.
Workplace Safety
and Insurance Act, 1997
7. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 is amended by adding the following section:
Human Rights Code
2.1 (1) Any provision of this Act and its regulations or any decision or policy made under this Act or its regulations that requires or authorizes a distinction because of age applies despite sections 1 and 5 of the Human Rights Code.
Same
(2) Subsection (1) applies with necessary modifications to any predecessor to this Act and its regulations and any decisions or policies made under such an Act and its regulations.
Commencement
8. This Act comes into force on January 1, 2005.
Short title
9. The short title of this Act is the Mandatory Retirement Elimination Act, 2003.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The definition of "age" in subsection 10 (1) of the Human Rights Code is amended. The previous definition had the effect of permitting mandatory retirement because of age if the age was 65 years or more. Transitional provisions are included in that Act to deal with situations that are in place when this Bill was introduced.
Provisions of other Acts that require persons to retire at a certain age are amended to eliminate mandatory retirement.
Provisions of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 that provide age-based benefits to injured workers will continue to apply.