Parliamentary Committee Passes Bill C-481 With Two Expected Amendments

March 8^th, 2011

Bill C-481 passed Committee review and amendment today, and was referred by the Committee back to Parliament for Third Reading and passage into law. The Bill included two amendments. The first amendment allowed for an exemption of the Canadian Forces to the repeal of mandatory retirement. The second amendment allowed for a one year period from the enactment of the Bill until the coming into force of the Bill.

This event marks an extremely significant event, for not only was the Bill passed by the Committee and referred back to Parliament, it was passed in spite of an intense lobby, primarily by employers, to delay or kill the effect of the Bill upon any organization that provided its employees with a pension plan or pension scheme. The lobby failed on two counts, first to table the Bill pending further study of proposals by employer. Second, to defeat the passage of the amendments to the Bill and the referral of the Bill back to Parliament.

Referall of the Bill to Parliament at this point obviously does not guarantee passage into law. In addition to potential procedural delays prior to Third Reading, there is of course the prospect that the entire session of Parliament could be terminated with the call of an election. Be that as it may be, the referral to Parliament constitutes an immense step forward in the legislative process, and sets the stage for repeal of mandatory retirement in the federal jurisdiction, regardless of the continuance of this session of Parliament.