Regulations Amending and Repealing Certain Regulations Made Under the Canadian Human Rights Act (Miscellaneous Program): SOR/2022-150

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 14

Registration
SOR/2022-150 June 21, 2022

CANADIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACT

P.C. 2022-714 June 20, 2022

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to section 22^{footnote a} and subsection 43(4)^{footnote b} of the Canadian Human Rights Act^{footnote c}, makes the annexed Regulations Amending and Repealing Certain Regulations Made Under the Canadian Human Rights Act (Miscellaneous Program).

Regulations Amending and Repealing Certain Regulations Made Under the Canadian Human Rights Act (Miscellaneous Program)

Canadian Human Rights Benefit Regulations

1 (1) The definitions disability income insurance plan or disability income benefit plan, health insurance plan or health benefit plan and spouse in subsection 2(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Benefit Regulations ^{footnote 1} are repealed.

(2) The definitions child and life insurance plan in subsection 2(1) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

child,

in relation to an employee under a benefit plan, means a child of the employee or of their spouse or common-law partner and includes any child within the meaning given that term under the plan; (enfant)

life insurance plan

means a plan, fund or arrangement, provided, furnished or offered to an employee that provides, in accordance with the terms of the plan, fund or arrangement, benefits payable either in a lump sum or by periodic payments

• (a) on the death of the employee, to a beneficiary, survivor or dependant of the employee, or
• (b) on the death of the spouse, the common-law partner, a child or a dependant of the employee, to the employee; (régime d’assurance-vie)

(3) The definition régime d’assurance in the French version of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

régime d’assurance

désigne un régime d’assurance-revenu en cas d’invalidité, un régime d’assurance-maladie ou un régime d’assurance-vie; (insurance plan)

(4) Paragraph (a) of the definition benefit in subsection 2(1) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (a) a lump sum or an annual, a monthly or other periodic amount or the accrual of such amounts to which an employee or their beneficiary, survivor, spouse, common-law partner, child or dependant is or may become entitled under the plan on superannuation, retirement, termination of employment, disability, accident, sickness or death,

(5) Subsection 2(1) of the Regulations is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

common-law partner,

in relation to an employee under a benefit plan, means a person with whom the employee has cohabited in a conjugal relationship for a period of at least one year before the event that causes a benefit to be paid under the terms of the plan; (conjoint de fait)

disability income insurance plan

means a plan, fund or arrangement provided, furnished or offered to an employee that provides, in accordance with the terms of the plan, fund or arrangement, benefits to the employee for loss of income because of sickness, accident or disability; (régime d’assurance-revenu en cas d’invalidité)

health insurance plan

means a plan, fund or arrangement provided, furnished or offered to or in respect of an employee that provides, in accordance with the terms of the plan, fund or arrangement, benefits for medical, hospital, nursing, drug or dental expenses or other similar expenses

• (a) to the employee or the spouse, common-law partner, child or dependant of the employee, or
• (b) in the case of a deceased employee, to the spouse, common-law partner, child or dependant of the employee; (régime d’assurance-maladie)

(6) Subsections 2(2) and (3) of the Regulations are repealed.

2 (1) Clauses 4(b)(ii)(A) and (B) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

• (A) benefits are payable periodically to the surviving spouse or common-law partner of a deceased employee, or
• (B) an increase in benefits is payable to a former employee because the employee has a dependent spouse or common-law partner, or

(2) Subparagraph 4(c)(i) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (i) because of marital status, if a lump sum benefit is payable under the plan to the surviving spouse or common-law partner of a deceased employee, or

3 (1) Clauses 5(e)(i)(A) and (B) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

• (A) benefits are payable on the death of an employee, in a lump sum or periodically, to the surviving spouse or common-law partner of the employee, or
• (B) benefits are payable to an employee, in a lump sum or periodically, on the death of their spouse or common-law partner, or

(2) Subparagraph 5(f)(i) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (i) because of marital status in order to provide benefits for the spouse or common-law partner of an employee,

(3) Subparagraph 5(f)(iii) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (iii) if benefits under the plan are reduced on attainment of a certain age in respect of certain medical, hospital, nursing, drug or dental expenses or other similar expenses when equivalent or greater benefits become payable by the health insurance plan of a province under which an employee or their survivor, spouse, common-law partner, child or dependant, as the case may be, is insured; and

(4) Paragraph 5(g) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (g) provisions that result in no differentiation being made between employees in the amounts of the benefits payable under the plan to or in respect of the employees on any ground of discrimination referred to in section 3 of the Act, other than the differentiation referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f), or the differentiation that results from the provisions of a benefit plan referred to in section 3.

4 Paragraph 7(b) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

• (b) in the case of any defined benefit pension plan, provisions that result in differentiation being made between employees in the rates of contribution of the employer to the plan, if such differentiation is made on an actuarial basis because of age, sex, marital status or family status in order to provide an increase in benefits under the plan to a former employee in respect of their dependent spouse or common-law partner or to pay benefits under the plan to the surviving spouse or common-law partner of a deceased employee or to or in respect of a surviving child of a deceased employee;

5 Paragraphs 8(b) and (c) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

• (b) in the case of any life insurance plan, provisions that result in differentiation being made between employees in the rates of contribution of employees or the employer to the plan, if such differentiation is made on an actuarial basis because of marital status in the case of employee contributions, or because of age, disability, sex, marital status or family status in the case of employer contributions, in order to pay benefits under the plan to the surviving spouse or common-law partner of a deceased employee or to or in respect of a surviving child or dependant of a deceased employee;
• (c) in the case of any life insurance plan or health insurance plan, provisions that result in differentiation being made between employees in the rates of contribution of employees or the employer to the plan, if such differentiation is made on an actuarial basis because of marital status or family status in order to pay benefits under the plan on the death of or for the health care of the spouse, common-law partner, children or dependants of an employee;

6 Section 9 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

9 The provisions of any benefit plan respecting leave of absence that result in differentiation being made between employees in the rates of contribution of an employer or employees, or both, to the plan, if such differentiation consists of a reduction in the contributions required of an employee who is absent on a maternity leave of absence or on a leave of absence due to sickness, injury or disability and an increase in the contributions of the employer to the plan by reason of that reduction, do not constitute the basis of a complaint under Part III of the Act that an employer is engaging or has engaged in a discriminatory practice.

Immigration Investigation Regulations

7 The Immigration Investigation Regulations ^{footnote 2} are repealed.

Customs and Excise Human Rights Investigation Regulations

8 The Customs and Excise Human Rights Investigation Regulations ^{footnote 3} are repealed.

Coming into Force

9 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

A review by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) and Justice Canada identified two regulations made under the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) that are obsolete and should be repealed. The review also identified one regulation containing discriminatory and archaic definitions that should be amended to bring it in line with contemporary Canadian law.

Objective

The amendments have the following objectives:

• to repeal obsolete or spent regulatory provisions which have no current application; and
• to harmonize terms used in the Canadian Human Rights Benefit Regulations with those used in contemporary Canadian law and other federal statutes.

Description and rationale

The two regulations, which were repealed, no longer provide any benefit to the Commission, complainants or respondents with cases before the Commission, or the Canadian public. The instruments are

• 1. Customs and Excise Human Rights Investigation Regulations (SOR/83-196)
  • This Regulation prescribes procedures for the investigation of complaints regarding the actions of customs and excise officers. The Regulation has been superseded by the Commission’s “Complaint Rules” (the Rules) that provide general guidance regarding the processing of complaints. The Rules are reviewed and updated, as necessary. The Regulation has not been used in many years, is out-of-date, and has limited practical application. Procedural rules are a more flexible and responsive way to address the processing of such complaints.
• 2. Immigration Investigation Regulations (SOR/80-686)
  • This Regulation prescribes procedures for the investigation of complaints regarding the actions of immigration officers. The Regulation has been superseded by the Commission’s “Complaint Rules” that provide general guidance regarding the processing of complaints. The Rules are reviewed and updated, as necessary. The Regulation has not been used in many years, is out-of-date, and has limited practical application. Procedural rules are a more flexible and responsive way to address the processing of complaints.

The proposal also modernizes the definitions in the following regulation:

• 1. Canadian Human Rights Benefit Regulations (SOR/80-68)
  • The definition of “spouse” in ss. 2(1), 2(2) and 2(3) is repealed although the term itself would remain (undefined); a definition of “common-law partner” (« conjoint de fait ») has been added. A number of consequential amendments throughout the Regulation are required to enact this change.
  • The definition of “child” has been amended to eliminate the reference to the obsolete “natural child” and to be inclusive of all legal parents.
  • These amendments bring these definitions in the Regulations into alignment with other federal laws and the equality provision of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Costs

The proposal does not impose any costs to government/stakeholders.

One-for-one rule and small business lens

The one-for-one rule applies since two regulatory titles have been removed, and the proposal is considered two titles out.

Analysis under the small business lens determined that the proposal will not impact small businesses in Canada.

Contact

Amelia Calbry-Muzyka
Counsel
Human Rights Law Section
Public Law and Legislative Services Sector
Department of Justice
amelia.calbry-muzyka@justice.gc.ca / 819‑360‑9078