From tougher bail rules to a new dental care plan, a range of new measures are taking effect across Canada in 2024, aiming to address human rights, public safety, health and other concerns.
The changes also include stricter financial requirements for international students, reporting obligations for companies and government agencies under a new Modern Slavery Act, and improvements in work and pay equity policies.
Here are some of the new laws and rules you need to know about:
NATIONWIDE
Dental-care plan rollout
Ottawa is rolling out what it calls its largest federal dental program in phases, as it aims to reduce financial barriers to access dental care such as cleaning, exams and root canals. The country’s eldest low-income residents who are uninsured can start accessing the new Canadian Dental Care Plan’s benefits as early as May 2024. The government said eligible residents should await a letter that will provide instructions on how to apply by phone.
Carbon price rural rebate boost
Ottawa is doubling the rural top-up rate for the pollution price rebate from 10 to 20 per cent, beginning in April 2024. The government said the move recognizes that rural residents face higher energy costs, increased energy needs and limited access to clean transportation.
CPP tax hike
Employers and employees will each have to pay $3,867 in 2024 because of the higher maximum pensionable earnings covered by the Canada Pension Plan tax, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. This represents an increase of $113 in tax in 2024 for both employers and workers earning at least $68,500. In addition, a second CPP tax will be applied on any income between $68,500 and $73,200, the federation said. For that second tax, the maximum tax amount will be $188 in 2024.
Changes to MAiD
If Ottawa decides not to further pause the change to its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law, people who are suffering specifically from mental illness will become eligible for it on March 17, 2024. The federal government said it is considering whether to pause its plan to widen the rules for the second time because of public and political concerns.
Stricter bail law
The federal bail-reform bill, formerly C-48, makes bail tougher to access for serious repeat violent offenders, placing the onus on the accused to prove why they should be released. The legislative amendments to the Criminal Code, which take effect Jan. 4, 2024, will make bail tougher to access for people accused of certain firearms and weapons offences as well as more cases involving alleged intimate partner violence.
Modern slavery law requirements
Canadian private companies and government entities will be required to comply with the country’s new law fighting the use of child or forced labour, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2024. Under the Modern Slavery Act, companies must report measures they took to prevent and decrease the risk of child labour or forced labour in their operations including their supply chains. Those that fit the criteria must file reports by May 31, 2024, and publish them prominently on their websites. Penalties include fines of up to $250,000 and a potential ban on importing goods.
Reforms affecting international students
The government is seeking to address concerns about international students with rules that launch in the new year. To ensure they can afford life in Canada, study permit applicants must meet a higher cost-of-living financial requirement starting Jan. 1, 2024. The requirement will more than double from the current $10,000 they have to show in savings. For applications received on or after Jan. 1, students must show they have $20,635, along with the costs of their first year of tuition and travel.
Accessibility plan for employers
By the time summer rolls around, federally regulated employers should have an accessibility plan ready, created in consultation with people with disabilities. Employers with 10 to 99 employees must publish their plan by June 1, 2024, complying with the Accessible Canada Act and Accessible Canada Regulations, according to Canadian business law firm McMillan LP. Employers with at least 100 employees are required to prepare and publish an annual progress report about how they have implemented their accessibility plan by June 1, 2024. These larger employers were required to submit and post their plans by June 1, 2023.
Pay equity reforms
Federally regulated employers with 10 or more employees must publish their pay equity plan by Sept. 3, 2024, based on the Pay Equity Act and Pay Equity Regulations, according to McMillan LLP. Employers with 100 or more employees and unionized employers must create a pay equity committee to help management develop the plan comparing “predominately male” to “predominately female” job classes. Employers who have identified pay equity gaps must raise the compensation for jobs that should get equal pay for work of equal value.
NOVA SCOTIA
Nova Scotia is expanding workers’ compensation coverage starting Sept. 1, 2024, for people who experience significant stress over time as a result of work. The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia will adjudicate the claims for gradual onset stress. The workplace injury insurer said gradual onset stress results from “a psychologically unhealthy workplace,” which it defines as one that fails to respect and listen to workers and doesn’t allow them to have some control over their work.
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The Northwest Territories has enhanced its health benefits policy for low-income residents in a bid to make health care more equitable, especially for vital drug therapies and preventative services. The changes will take effect on April 1, 2024. The revised policy also uses income assessment to determine eligibility for all benefits, except for seniors. As well, it removes the requirement to have a specified disease condition to access benefits.
NUNAVUT
Nunavut is increasing minimum wage from $16 to $19 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2024, the highest rate in Canada. The territory’s justice department recommended the hike following a survey and consultations with businesses and employees during the past summer.
To prevent the exploitation of temporary and vulnerable workers, temporary work agencies and recruiters will need a licence to assign staff to work in Ontario, effective July 1, 2024. Under a revised Employment Standards Act, the changes ban clients from using unlicensed services. Those businesses also need to pay $750 application fees and provide a $25,000 letter of credit to potentially cover wages owed to employees.
QUEBEC
An immigration program for temporary foreign workers or foreign students who have graduated in Quebec faces stricter language criteria, effective Nov. 23, 2024. The Québec Experience Program (PEQ) now requires a language proficiency level of at least seven in spoken French and five or higher in written French, according to the Quebec scale.
With files from The Canadian Press, Reuters, Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello and CTVNews.ca Writer Megan DeLaire
LONGUEUIL, Que. – People in a part of Longueuil, Que., were being asked to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed on Thursday morning after a train derailed, spilling an unknown quantity of hydrogen peroxide.
Police from the city just east of Montreal said it didn’t appear anyone was hurt, although a CN rail official told a news conference that three employees had been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
The derailment happened at around 9 a.m. in the LeMoyne area, near the intersection of St-Louis and St-Georges streets. Mathieu Gaudreault, a spokesman for CN rail, said about eight cars derailed at the Southwark rail facility, including four that toppled over.
“As of this morning, the information we have is it’s hydrogen peroxide that was in the rail car and created the fumes we saw,” he said, adding that there was no risk of fire.
François Boucher, a spokesman for the Longueuil police department, said police were asking people in the area, including students at nearby schools, to stay indoors while experts ensure the air is safe to breathe.
“It is as a preventive measure that we encourage people to really avoid exposing themselves unnecessarily,” he told reporters near the scene.
Police and fire officials were on site, as well as CN railworkers, and a large security perimeter was erected.
Officers were asking people to avoid the sector, and the normally busy Highway 116 was closed in the area. The confinement notice includes everyone within 800 metres of the derailment, officials said, who added that it would be lifted once a team with expertise in dangerous materials has given the green light.
In addition to closing doors and windows, people in the area covered by the notice are asked to close heating, ventilation and air exchange systems, and to stay as far from windows as possible.
Gaudreault said it wasn’t yet clear what caused the derailment. The possibilities include a problem with the track, a problem with a manoeuvre, or a mechanical issue, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s Liberal party is promising to improve cellphone service and invest in major highways if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.
Party leader Zach Churchill says a Liberal government would spend $60 million on building 87 new cellphone towers, which would be in addition to the $66 million the previous Progressive Conservative government committed to similar projects last year.
As well, Churchill confirmed the Liberals want to improve the province’s controlled access highways by adding exits along Highway 104 across the top of the mainland, and building a bypass along Highway 101 near Digby.
Churchill says the Liberals would add $40 million to the province’s $500 million capital budget for highways.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major political parties were expected to spend much of today preparing for a televised debate that will be broadcast tonight at 6 p.m. local time.
Churchill will face off against Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston and NDP Leader Claudia Chender during a 90-minute debate that will be carried live on CBC TV and streamed online.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – A group of hotel service workers in Toronto is set to hold a rally today outside the Fairmont Royal York to demand salary increases as hotel costs in the city skyrocket during Taylor Swift’s concerts.
Unite Here Local 75, the union representing 8,000 hospitality workers in the Greater Toronto Area, says Royal York employees have not seen a salary increase since 2021, and have been negotiating a new contract with the hotel since 2022.
The rally comes as the megastar begins her series of six sold-out concerts in Toronto, with the last show scheduled for Nov. 23.
During show weekends, some hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Toronto are priced up to 10 times more than other weekends, with some advertised for as much as $2,000 per night.
The union says hotel workers who will be serving Swifties during her Toronto stops are bargaining for raises to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The union represents hospitality workers including food service employees, room attendants and bell persons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
