First Reference Talks

Happy Canada Day everyone! And look out for all the laws coming into force today

Author: Yosie Saint-Cyr

Posted on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 09:30

First, we at First Reference would like to wish everybody a happy and safe Canada Day!

As you well know, employees get a day off with regular pay or public holiday pay (depending on the province or territory of employment). If the employee is required to work on the holiday, the employee must be paid regular wages and get a substituted day off with pay at a later date (depending on the jurisdiction). Canada Day is observed on July 1 (it is not a movable holiday under the Canada Holiday Act); the only exception is if July 1 falls on a Sunday, it is observed the following business day, which is Monday. (Newfoundland and Labrador has a different rule under the Shops’ Closing Act.) For specific requirements for your jurisdiction, consult the Library section of HRinfodesk.

On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty’s loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1st.

Second, several laws in various jurisdictions are coming into force today. They are as follows:

• The minimum wage increases in Newfoundland and Labrador to $10 per hour on July 1, 2010.
• All “sharps” including IVs, scalpels and hypodermic needles, must be replaced with alternative safety devices by all health care providers in Alberta as of July 1, 2010. The requirement is now specified in the Occupational Health and Safety Code. Individual employers are responsible for providing training for all of their employees.
• Effective July 1, 2010, there are payroll related changes for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The new Payroll Deductions Tables (T4032), new Payroll Deductions Supplementary Tables (T4008), new Tables on Diskette (TOD), new Payroll Deductions Online Calculator effective July 1, 2010 are now available on the CRA website.
• As of July 1, 2010, the Ontario Needle Safety Regulation, 474/07 will apply in all workplaces where a hollow-bore needle is used for therapeutic, preventative, palliative, diagnostic or cosmetic purpose. In addition to hospitals and long-term care facilities which were already covered, the regulation will now apply to workplaces such as ambulance services, home care services, public health programs, and health care/first aid services in schools, industry and other workplaces.
• Ontario Regulation 259/10 (Designated Substances) under the Occupational Health And Safety Act revokes and substitutes Regulations 490/09, which sets out new and revised Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) that come into force on July 1, 2010. Eleven of twelve standalone designated substance regulations are being consolidated into one designated substances regulation. Regulation 278/05, Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operations, was not consolidated. In addition, Regulation 833 has been revised to update occupational exposure limits or listings for several hazardous chemical substances in the Regulation respecting Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents.
• The Ontario Long Term Care Homes Act and its accompanying Regulation comes into force on July 1, 2010. The Act establishes a new system of governance for long-term care homes in Ontario. It replaces the Nursing Homes Act, the Charitable Institutions Act and the Homes for the Aged and Rest Homes Act. The new Act and Regulation govern the requirements relating to long-term care home resident care, services, admissions, operations, funding, licensing, compliance and administrative matters in all long-term care homes in Ontario.
• Changes to the Alberta Protection for Persons in Care Act, which builds upon the strengths of the current Act and will improve protection for Albertans by emphasizing the prevention of abuse and including enforcement mechanisms, comes into force on July 1, 2010. The Act promotes the prevention of abuse of adults who receive government-funded care or support services. There are several aspects of the Act of interest to employers and employees; among them, all service providers must require a criminal records check from every successful employment applicant, every new volunteer and any other individual engaged by the service provider to provide care or support services. For more, go to www.seniors.alberta.ca/CSS/persons_in_care.
• The HST comes into force in Ontario and British Columbia on July 1, 2010. More can be found on the CRA website. the Nova Scotia HST increases from 13% to 15%, due to an increase of the provincial portion of the HST from 8% to 10%.
• Changes to Saskatchewan’s construction labour laws take effect July 1. The amendments to the act, Bill 80, allow a trade union to organize a company on a multi-trade, or “all employee” basis, such as the Christian Labour Association of Canada or the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions, as well as on a single trade basis. Also, any trade union will be able to certify an employer and employers can choose the Representative Employers’ Organization that will represent them in collective bargaining. Employers will also be able to negotiate site-by-site collective agreements with a multi-trade union outside of the provincewide bargaining system, thereby avoiding the need for an REO. Bill 80 also allows an employer to file an abandonment complaint against a trade union that has been “inactive in promoting and enforcing its bargaining rights against the employer for a period of at least three years before the application.”
• Starting July 1, Quebec companies will be imposed larger fines for non-compliance with safety rules. These increases will be implemented in two stages: the fines will double as of July 1, 2010 and will triple as of January 1, 2011.

Enjoy your day off and deal with it tomorrow!

Yosie Saint-Cyr
Human Resources and Compliance Managing Editor

Tags: CRA, employment law, employment standards, health and safety, HST, July 1 2010, occupational health and safety, Payroll, Public Holiday, taxes

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 09:30 and is filed under Employment Standards, Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls, Payroll, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.