Ontario to ban mandatory retirement

TORONTO, (Jan. 29, 2004) — Workers in Ontario may not be forced into retirement if planned legislation is passed when the provincial legislature resumes in March.

The Globe and Mail is reporting that the Attorney General’s Ministry is working on legislation to reverse laws that allow companies and union contracts to force workers to leave their jobs when they turn 65, the paper said, citing unnamed Liberal government sources.

Although no law in Canada requires retirement, many workplaces are allowed to mandate it through collective agreements or company policies even if an employee wants to keep working.

Some provinces already protect workers over 65 through labour or human rights legislation. Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal government are the jurisdictions that still allow it.

— From Canadian Press, via the Globe and Mail