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Canada Labour Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2)

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Act current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2024-02-01. Previous Versions

PART IIOccupational Health and Safety (continued)

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

  •  (1) Subject to this section, the Governor in Council may make regulations

    • (a) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed;

    • (a.01) defining the expressions “harassment” and “violence” for the purposes of this Part;

    • (a.1) restricting or prohibiting any activity or thing that any provision of this Part contemplates being the subject of regulations;

    • (a.2) prescribing the method for calculating and determining the regular rate of wages for the purpose of section 146.5; and

    • (b) respecting such other matters or things as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Part.

  • Marginal note:Idem

    (1.1) Where the Governor in Council is of the opinion that a regulation cannot appropriately be made by prescribing a standard or other thing that by a paragraph of sections 125 to 126 is to be prescribed, the Governor in Council may make regulations in relation to the safety and health matters referred to in that paragraph in such manner as the Governor in Council considers appropriate in the circumstances, whether or not the opinion of the Governor in Council is indicated at the time the regulations are made.

  • (2) and (2.1) [Repealed, 1993, c. 42, s. 11]

  • Marginal note:Ministerial recommendations

    (3) Regulations of the Governor in Council under subsection (1) or (1.1) in respect of occupational safety and health of employees employed

    • (a) on ships, trains or aircraft, while in operation, shall be made on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Transport; or

    • (b) on or in connection with exploration or drilling for or the production, conservation, processing or transportation of oil or gas in frontier lands, as defined in the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, shall be made on the recommendation of

      • (i) the Minister and the Minister of Indigenous Services, and

      • (ii) the Minister of Natural Resources, taking into consideration any recommendations made by the Canadian Energy Regulator in relation to the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Regulations general or specific

    (4) Regulations made under this section may be made applicable to all employment to which this Part applies, to one or more classes of employment to which this Part applies or to such employment in one or more work places.

  • Marginal note:Incorporation of standards

    (5) Regulations made under this section incorporating a standard by reference may incorporate the standard as enacted or adopted at a certain date, as amended to a certain date or as amended from time to time.

  • Marginal note:Compliance with standards

    (6) Regulations made under this section that prescribe or incorporate a standard but that require the standard to be complied with only to the extent that compliance is practicable or reasonably practicable in circumstances governed by the standard may require the employer to report to the Head the reason that full compliance is not practicable or reasonably practicable in particular circumstances.

Marginal note:Provincial Crown corporations

 The Governor in Council may, by regulation, direct that this Part applies in respect of any employment, or any class or classes of employment, on or in connection with a federal work, undertaking or business set out in the regulation that is, or is part of, a corporation that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of a province, including a corporation whose activities are regulated, in whole or in part, under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

  • R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 158
  • R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4
  • 1996, c. 12, s. 3
  • 1997, c. 9, s. 125
  • 2000, c. 20, ss. 21, 30

Marginal note:Exclusion from application

  •  (1) The Governor in Council may by regulation exclude, in whole or in part, from the application of any of the provisions of this Part any employment, or any class or classes of employment, on or in connection with a work or undertaking set out in the regulation whose activities are regulated, in whole or in part, pursuant to the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

  • Marginal note:Regulations

    (2) On the recommendation of the Minister after consultation with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the Governor in Council may make regulations relating to occupational safety and health in relation to employment that is subject to a regulation made pursuant to subsection (1).

  • R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 159
  • R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4
  • 1996, c. 12, s. 3
  • 1997, c. 9, s. 125

Marginal note:Application of certain provisions

 Subsections 121.2(3) to (8) apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of a regulation made pursuant to subsection 159(2) except that the references to “subsection (2)” in subsections 121.2(3) to (6) shall be read as references to subsection 159(2).

  • R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 160
  • R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4
  • 1996, c. 12, s. 3

Marginal note:Pilot projects

 Despite anything in this Part, the Governor in Council may make any regulations that the Governor in Council considers necessary respecting the establishment and operation of one or more pilot projects for testing which possible amendments to this Part or the regulations made under this Part would improve the prevention of accidents, injuries and illnesses arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of employment to which this Part applies, including regulations respecting the manner in which and the extent to which any provision of this Part or the regulations made under this Part applies to a pilot project, and adapting any such provision for the purposes of that application.

Marginal note:Repeal of regulations

 Unless they are repealed earlier, regulations made under section 161 are repealed on the fifth anniversary of the day on which they come into force.

 [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4]

PART IIIStandard Hours, Wages, Vacations and Holidays

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

 In this Part,

collective agreement

collective agreement means an agreement in writing containing terms or conditions of employment of employees, including provisions with reference to rates of pay, hours of work and settlement by a third party of disagreements arising in the application of the agreement, between

  • (a) an employer or an employers’ organization acting on behalf of an employer, and

  • (b) a trade union acting on behalf of the employees in collective bargaining or as a party to an agreement with the employer or employers’ organization; (convention collective)

day

day means any period of twenty-four consecutive hours; (jour)

employer

employer means any person who employs one or more employees; (employeur)

general holiday

general holiday means New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is observed on September 30, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day and includes any day substituted for any such holiday under section 195; (jours fériés)

health care practitioner

health care practitioner means a person lawfully entitled, under the laws of a province, to provide health services in the place in which they provide those services; (professionnel de la santé)

industrial establishment

industrial establishment means any federal work, undertaking or business and includes any branch, section or other division of a federal work, undertaking or business that is designated as an industrial establishment by regulations made under paragraph 264(1)(b); (établissement)

inspector

inspector[Repealed, 2018, c. 27, s. 569]

order

order means any order of the Minister made pursuant to this Part or the regulations; (arrêté)

overtime

overtime means hours of work in excess of standard hours of work; (heures supplémentaires)

qualified medical practitioner

qualified medical practitioner[Repealed, 2018, c. 27, s. 442]

regional director

regional director[Repealed, 2018, c. 27, s. 569]

standard hours of work

standard hours of work means the hours of work established pursuant to section 169 or 170 or in any regulations made pursuant to section 175; (durée normale du travail)

trade union

trade union means any organization of employees formed for purposes that include the regulation of relations between employers and employees; (syndicat)

wages

wages includes every form of remuneration for work performed but does not include tips and other gratuities; (salaire)

week

week means, in relation to Division I, the period between midnight on Saturday and midnight on the immediately following Saturday. (semaine)

Application

Marginal note:Application of Part

  •  (1) This Part applies

    • (a) to employment in or in connection with the operation of any federal work, undertaking or business other than a work, undertaking or business of a local or private nature in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut;

    • (b) to and in respect of employees who are employed in or in connection with any federal work, undertaking or business described in paragraph (a);

    • (c) to and in respect of any employers of the employees described in paragraph (b);

    • (d) to and in respect of any corporation established to perform any function or duty on behalf of the Government of Canada other than a department as defined in the Financial Administration Act; and

    • (e) to or in respect of any Canadian carrier, as defined in section 2 of the Telecommunications Act, that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of a province.

  • Marginal note:Application to other persons

    (1.1) Subject to subsection (1.2), this Part applies to any person who is not an employee but who performs for an employer to which this Part applies activities whose primary purpose is to enable the person to acquire knowledge or experience, and to the employer, as if that person were an employee of the employer, and every provision of this Part must be read accordingly.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (1.2) Except to the extent provided for in the regulations, this Part does not apply to a person referred to in subsection (1.1) or, in relation to the person, the employer, if the person performs the activities to fulfil the requirements of a program that is offered by a secondary or post-secondary educational institution, vocational school, or equivalent educational institution outside Canada, specified or described in the regulations.

  • Marginal note:Non-application of Division I to certain employees

    (2) Division I does not apply to or in respect of employees who

    • (a) are managers or superintendents or exercise management functions; or

    • (b) are members of such professions as may be designated by regulation as professions to which Division I does not apply.

  • Marginal note:Non-application of Division XIV to managers

    (3) Division XIV does not apply to or in respect of employees who are managers.

Marginal note:Prohibition

 An employer is prohibited from treating an employee as if they were not their employee in order to avoid their obligations under this Part or to deprive the employee of their rights under this Part.

Marginal note:Burden of proof

 If, in any proceeding in respect of a complaint made under this Part, the employer alleges that the complainant is not their employee, the burden of proof is on the employer.

Marginal note:Saving more favourable benefits

  •  (1) This Part and all regulations made under this Part apply notwithstanding any other law or any custom, contract or arrangement, but nothing in this Part shall be construed as affecting any rights or benefits of an employee under any law, custom, contract or arrangement that are more favourable to the employee than his rights or benefits under this Part.

  • Marginal note:Where collective agreement applies exclusively

    (1.1) Divisions II, IV, V and VIII do not apply to an employer and employees who are parties to a collective agreement that confers on employees rights and benefits at least as favourable as those conferred by those respective Divisions in respect of length of leave, rates of pay and qualifying periods for benefits, and, in respect of employees to whom the third party settlement provisions of such a collective agreement apply, the settlement of disagreements relating to those matters is governed exclusively by the collective agreement.

  • Marginal note:Sunday

    (2) Nothing in this Part authorizes the doing of any work on Sunday that is prohibited by law.

  • R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 168
  • 1993, c. 42, s. 13
 

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