Series of policy
changes ahead
for New Year
BY SHEILA BRAWN
BEGINNING NEXT MONTH,
employers will see changes to
the Employment Insurance (EI)
program that will affect their
premium rates and could impact
their short-term disability and
supplementary benefit plans.
The next year may also bring
more information on possible
changes to the Record of Em-
ployment (ROE) and federal
labour standards rules for ma-
ternity, parental and caregiver
leaves.
As of Jan. 1, the federal govern-
ment will lower premium rates
from $1.88 per $100 of insurable
earnings to $1.63 for employ-
ees outside of Quebec. For em-
ployees in Quebec, the rate will
decrease from $1.52 to $1.27.
Employers pay 1.4 times the em-
ployee rate unless Employment
and Social Development Canada
(ESDC) has lowered their rate
under its EI Premium Reduction
Program (PRP).
For the first time, the Canada
Employment Insurance Com-
mission (CEIC), a tripartite
organization made up of repre-
sentatives from business, labour
and the federal government, set
the EI rate.
Under amendments to the
Employment Insurance Act that
apply as of 2017 rate-setting,
the CEIC is responsible for de-
termining the rate each year us-
ing a new mechanism called the
Payroll Reporter
Can
R
Can
R
adian adian a
www.payroll-reporter.com
December 2016
see WAITING PERIOD page 2
News in Brief pg. 4
CPP maximums increase |Manitoba
levy mailouts go awry|Feds still
working on Phoenix | Quebecers want
minimum wage bump
Ask an expert pg. 5
ROEs during self-funded
leaves|Employer-paid
counselling fees | Paying
wages in lieu of notice
when wages vary
see ALTERATIONS on page 6
Credit:
gwb/Shutterstock
Gearing up for 2017 pg. 3
Thomson Reuters' Payroll
Consulting Group provides tips to
make year-end reporting more
accurate and less stressful
Feds move to amend CPP
Employers, payroll professionals need to prepare for Bill C-26
BY SHEILA BRAWN
NOW THAT the federal gov-
ernment has tabled legislation
to amend the Canada Pension
Plan (CPP), the countdown is
on for employers and payroll
professionals to get ready for the
changes.
The government introduced
Bill C-26, An Act to amend the
Canada Pension Plan, the Can-
ada Pension Plan Investment
Board and the Income Tax Act,
for first reading in the House of
Commons on Oct. 6.
The bill would implement an
agreement in principle that fed-
eral Finance Minister Bill Mor-
neau and the finance ministers
of nine provinces signed over
the summer to change the way
the CPP operates.
Quebec was the only prov-
ince not to sign the agreement.
It plans to hold its own consul-
tations on possible changes to
the Quebec Pension Plan.
Morneau has called the agree-
ment an historic one that will
provide more income security
for Canadians in retirement.
The proposed changes would
be among the most significant
amendments to the plan since it
came into effect in 1966.
They would include the fol-
lowing proposals:
• The federal government would
raise the CPP contribution rate
for employers and employees
on earnings up to the yearly
maximum pensionable earn-
ings (YMPE). It would phase in
the change between 2019 and
EI: A look at what's on the horizon