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Federal Budget 2022 Tabled
Date: April 8, 2022
On April 7, 2022, the federal government tabled its 2022 Budget, “A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable.”
The Budget covers a wide array of initiatives, and while housing, defence and climate change are its key focus areas, the Budget includes some proposals that will be of specific interest to employers, pension plan administrators and human resources professionals. Of particular interest are:
- Amendments to the Income Tax Regulations to replace the 90-day borrowing limit for defined benefit pension plans with a limit based on the total amount of additional borrowed money, with no limit on borrowing to acquire real property in certain circumstances
- For federally regulated pension plans, amendments to the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 and the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act that would improve governance and administration, create new frameworks for solvency reserve accounts and variable payment life annuities, and introduce requirements for disclosure of environmental, social and governance considerations
- Confirmation that the government will proceed with the necessary legislative amendments to implement the new procedure for the correction of contribution errors in defined contribution pension plans
- Amendments to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) to provide further support to federally regulated employees who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth, and
- Minor amendments to the CLC to support the implementation of 10 days of paid sick leave for employees in federally regulated industries.
We are awaiting the release of the corresponding Budget Bill and will provide a more detailed summary of the key employment, labour, pension and benefits-related initiatives in the coming days.
The article in this client update provides general information and should not be relied on as legal advice or opinion. This publication is copyrighted by Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP and may not be photocopied or reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the express permission of Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP. ©
