On December 15 , 2011 the federal government gave Royal Assent
to the omnibus Bill C-13. Included in that Bill was Part 12 which
amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to repeal certain provisions
that allowed for mandatory retirement. It also amended the Canada
Labour Code to repeal a provision that denied employees the right
to severance pay for involuntary termination if they are entitled
to a pension.
BC eliminated mandatory retirement in 2008 following other
jurisdictions such as Ontario. This recent amendment to the
Canadian Human Rights Act brings the federal legislation in line
with British Columbia human rights. The abolishment of mandatory
retirement in the federal legislation will not take effect until
December 2012 and will allow federal employers some lead time to
transition. An employer may still implement mandatory retirement
but must rely upon proving a bona fide occupational retirement. It
is highly unlikely that most employers will be successful, in
