Canadian Payroll Reporter

August 2015

Focuses on issues of importance to payroll professionals across Canada. It contains news, case studies, profiles and tracks payroll-related legislation to help employers comply with all the rules and regulations governing their organizations.

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7 the period in which eligible indi- viduals may receive EI compas- sionate care benefits from six weeks to 26 weeks, beginning Jan. 3, 2016. In addition, it amends Part III of the Canada Labour Code to increase the maximum amount of compassionate care leave fed- erally regulated workers can take from eight weeks to 28 weeks and to extend the period within which employees must take the leave from 26 to 52 weeks. The changes take effect Jan. 3, 2016. ESDC starts new EI project Employment and Social Devel- opment Canada (ESDC) has launched a new Working While on Claim pilot project to test for effective ways to encourage Em- ployment Insurance (EI) claim- ants to work more while receiv- ing EI benefits. Pilot Project No. 19 essentially extends the parameters of Pilot Project No. 18 for another year. That pilot ended on Aug. 1, but ESDC said it needed more time to assess its effectiveness, so it created Pilot Project No. 19 to run from Aug. 2, 2015, to Aug. 6, 2016. Alberta Minimum wage going up Oct. 1 The province's general mini- mum wage rate will rise from $10.20 an hour to $11.20 on Oct. 1, Premier Rachel Notley re- cently announced. The govern- ment would also raise the rate for liquor servers from $9.20 an hour to $10.70. The increase is part of a two-step plan to elimi- nate a separate liquor server rate as of Oct. 1, 2016. Notley has previously said the government plans to increase the general minimum wage rate to $15 an hour by 2018. It has been consulting with industry associations that represent em- ployers that typically pay mini- mum wage, as well as labour and public interest advocacy organi- zations, about establishing a new way to set minimum wage rates. Prior to these increases, the province used to adjust mini- mum wage rates on Sept. 1 every year, based on changes to Alber- ta's consumer price index and average weekly earnings. The new government has called the formula "inadequate". Other minimum wage rates will also increase on Oct. 1. The minimum wage rate for certain salespersons specified in pro- vincial regulations will rise from $406 per week to $446. The min- imum rate for domestic employ- ees who live in their employer's residence will increase from $1,937 per month to $2,127. Personal income tax changes coming for Oct. 1 Employers in Alberta will have to adjust their payroll systems to incorporate income tax source deduction changes for Oct. 1, as the province moves from a flat-rate income tax system to a graduated rate structure based on taxable income. Amendments to the prov- ince's Personal Income Tax Act, replace the flat rate structure with five tax brackets and rates, beginning in 2015. The new rates and brackets are: Currently, a single income tax rate of 10 per cent applies to all taxable income. The CRA is expected to pub- lish updated payroll deductions formulas and tables to incorpo- rate the changes. British Columbia Minimum wage going up Effective Sept. 15, the general minimum wage rate in the prov- ince will rise to $10.45 an hour from $10.25. The rate for employees who serve liquor will increase to $9.20 an hour from $9. Other rates, including piecework rates for farm workers, will also go up in mid-Sept. Beginning Sept. 15, 2016, the province will index minimum wage rates using increases in the consumer price index (CPI) for B.C. for the previous year (rounded to the nearest nickel). In years where the CPI change is negative, the minimum wage would not change. The govern- ment will announce rate changes in March each year to give busi- nesses time to adjust. Manitoba Minimum wage rates going up The province's general mini- mum wage rate will rise from $10.70 per hour to $11 on Oct. 1, the Department of Labour and Immigration recently an- nounced. The minimum wage rate for security guards who hold a license issued under The Pri- vate Investigators and Security Guards Act will rise from $10.95 an hour to $11.75 on Oct. 1. Quebec Government could lower 2016 QPIP premium rates The Quebec government is pro- posing to lower the premium rates for the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) next year. As of Jan. 1, 2016, the employ- ee QPIP premium rate would decrease from 0.559 per cent to 0.548 per cent and the employer rate would drop from 0.782 per cent to 0.767 per cent, the gov- ernment announced in draft regulations published in the June 23 Quebec Gazette Part 2. Tax changes proposed The province's Finance Ministry recently announced a number of payroll-related tax changes it plans to make to further harmo- nize Quebec tax law with federal tax rules. The ministry said it would incorporate a recent federal change that allows new employ- ers to make quarterly remittanc- es of source deductions. The fed- eral government announced the measure in this year's budget. The federal change allows new employers with monthly withholdings of less than $1,000 and a perfect compliance record to send in Canada Pension Plan contributions, employment in- surance premiums and income tax source deductions to the CRA quarterly, starting in 2016. With the Quebec Finance Min- istry's harmonization announce- ment, it is expected new em- ployers in Quebec with monthly withholdings of less than $1,000 would be allowed to remit Que- bec Pension Plan contributions, Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums and provincial income tax deductions quarterly if they had a perfect compliance record with Revenu Québec. The province also plans to in- corporate into Quebec tax law an increase in the annual contri- bution limit for tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) from $5,500 to $10,000, beginning in 2015. New act will consolidate la- bour bodies Quebec's National Assembly recently passed legislation that will consolidate a number of la- bour-related government bodies into a new organization, begin- ning next year. The Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sé- curité du travail will replace the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST), the Commission des normes du tra- vail (CNT) and the Commission de l'équité salariale. Saskatchewan Minimum wage going up The minimum wage rate in the province will rise from $10.20 per hour to $10.50 on Oct. 1. The province reviews the min- imum wage rate every year using an indexation formula based on an equal weighting of the change in the province's consumer price index and average hourly wage for the previous year. Before changes are made, the provincial cabinet must approve them and announce them by Jun. 30 each year. Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 CPR | August 2015 Legislative Roundup from FEDERAL BUDGET BILL on page 1 Taxable Income Tax Rate $0.01-$125,000.00 10 per cent $125,000.01-$150,000.00 12 per cent $150,000.01-$200,000.00 13 per cent $200,000.01-$300,000.00 14 per cent $300,000.01 and over 15 per cent

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