On December 12, 2006, Bill 211 comes into force effectively ending mandatory retirement. As you may be aware, the Minister of Labour introduced Bill 211, the Ending Mandatory Retirement Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005 ("Act") to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on June 7, 2005. The legislation was proposed to end the practice of mandatory retirement in Ontario "while not undermining existing pension, benefit and early retirement rights". It was designed to afford those who are 65 years of age and older the same opportunity to earn a living and contribute to society enjoyed by younger workers.
While the Human Rights Code currently permits age-based discrimination in employment with respect to employees who are under 18 or who are older than 65 years, the Act will amend the definition of "age" for the purposes of age discrimination under the Code to protect employees aged 65 or older from being forced to retire, except in those cases where an employer can justify the decision based
