Mandatory Retirement in Canada (Essay Sample)

Mandatory Retirement in Canada
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Introduction
The issue of mandatory retirement has been in place in many countries and debates have raised on the convenient retirement age. In Canada, the retirement age was set at 65 years but there have been plans to raise the age to 67 years by 2023. According to Employment Law Conference (2015) there have been several debates regarding the retirement age in Canada, with the majority supporting the abolition of mandatory retirement. They noted that the people of Canada are living longer as compared to the previous years, and as such, should be allowed to work while contributing their invaluable knowledge and experience in the labor force. Knoechel (2010) collaborated with these findings and noted that mandatory retirement should be abolished unless where there are convincing reasons to limit them from doing so, such as safety and health concerns.
This initiative would benefit senior workers seeking to continue with their employment contracts and government regulated employers looking for employees with adequate skills and experience in some areas. Employment Law Conference (2015) pointed out that the Canada Labour Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act of 2012 were enacted to ban government regulated employers from implementing mandatory retirement age. The above acts, however, allowed the setting of mandatory retirement age where there exists a bona fide employment requirement (Knoechel 2010). The issue of mandatory retirement has been in place since the 1970s in Canada with 65 years being the normal age of retirement for employers and workers alike. It developed together with the introduction of private and public pension plans (Knoechel 2010). Federal programs such as Quebec Pension Plans, Old Age Security, and Guaranteed Income Supplement indicated that retirement benefits were to be paid beginning at the age of 65. Knoechel (2010) added that mandatory retirement was used as a deferred compensation approach to the labor market that provided for deferred benefits such as postretirement benefits and pension which rise with worker’s tenure and fixed retirement wages.
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Legal issues with age discrimination
The legislation laws in Canada are aimed at ensuring equality of the entire population. This includes the young and the old irrespective of the point of perspective. The Canadian provisions that prohibit age discrimination are grounded in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that applies to all entities and institutions. Section 15(10) states that Every individual is equal before the law regardless of a gender, age, color, religion, sex, or mental or physical disability and have the right to be protected by the law (emphasis added) (Dinsdale 2015). All territories, provinces, and the federal government have policies and measures in place to prevent age discrimination. From the Canadian Laws, age discrimination refers to an individual who is 18 years or above in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta and 19 years or above in British Columbia. The Ontario Human Rights Code states that every person has the right to equal treatment, with respect to race, sex, age, a record of offenses, gender identity, place of origin or disability. These laws aim at protecting the rights, freedoms and privileges of the minority groups who are prone to abuse and discrimination (Dinsdale 2015). The code defines age that is 18 years or above. However, before 2006, age was defined as from 18 years to sixty-five years. The amendment was strictly meant to limit the use of mandatory retirement policies unless a valid exception was provided. The changes applied for every participant in the labor market, including union members, temporary, casual and contract staff, volunteers and unpaid workers, personal attendants and probationary employee (Dinsdale 2015).
However, Dinsdale (2015) noted that employers can have retirement plans in place for the employees. The issue that is covered by the law is mandatory retirement. However, there are exceptions as indicated in the legislation laws. The exception caters for judges and masters and justices of peace, under the Courts of Justice Act under which there is a particular retirement age. The issue of mandatory retirement should be approached on a case-by-case basis as stated by the British Columbia Court of Appeal. This is aimed at protecting both the employers and employees by allowing the employers to justify the reasons for their employment termination based on its policy and the circumstances of its workplace (Dinsdale 2015). These exceptions are mainly for the technical industries that make use of physical labor that may be unsuitable for older employees. The employers are tasked with the responsibility of proofing the employees limitation based on a bona fide occupation requirement. By the same token, the anti-discriminatory measures against age discrimination do not apply to bona insurance plans, pension, and retirement.
In the early 1990’s, about two-thirds of the collective agreements in the employment sector provided for a mandatory retirement age of 65 years. This was as a result of the increased number of older people above 65 years. Mandatory retirement is permitted or prohibited only when there is a bona fide retirement or pension plan. This is mostly driven by the fact that the population can work longer and the increased time spent in the formal education systems before starting work that has contributed to people working at a later age in life. In addition, the Canadian economy is facing a risk of labor shortages and an insufficient number of the workforce to replace the departing employees. The implementation of the Nova Scotia's Human Rights Act has reduced the employment opportunities of the young and active population in Canada (Dinsdale 2015).
Demographic structure of Canada
The population of Canada was approximately 35,540,400 people by 2014. This number was up by 1.1 % or 386,100 over the previous year. From this population, 15.5% were aged between 0-14 years. This population was composed of 2,764,691 male and 2,628,413 female. 12.7% were aged between 15-24 years consisted of 2,267,210 male and 2,142,085 female members. 41% represented adults aged between 25-54 years with 7,244,109 male and 7,052,512 female members. Similarly, 13.5% were aged between 55-64 years, with 2,336,202 male and 2,380,703 female representatives. Additionally, 17.3% were aged 65 years and above, with 2,670,482 male and 3,348,434 female members (Index Mundi 2015). From this data, the population of the elderly population is higher than that of the young population. Statistics Canada (2008) noted that the Canadian population is aging, and the age and sex structure has considerably changed in the past fifty years. In the mid 20th century, the population of the young people was considerably large as compared to that of the elderly. This transformation is as a result of a decrease in the fertility levels and a steady increase in life expectancy. Between 1956 and 2006, the median age in Canada shifted from 27.2 years to 38.8 years, a gain of more than ten years in a span of fewer than 50 years. By 2014, the median age was 41.7 years, up from 38.8 years in 2006.
Index Mundi (2015) also noted that the dependency ratio has increased in Canada. By 2014, the total dependency ratio stood at 47.2%. From this ratio, 24.2% were youth while 22.9% were the elderly. Similarly, the estimated potential support ratio grew to 4.4 by the end of 2014. The number of working-age person per elderly person dropped in 2014 in the pool of workers. The demographic structure also suggests that the number of people old enough to leave the labor market will outnumber the number of those old enough and qualified to join the labor force. There are three indicators that can be used for indicating the aging population in Canada. The first indicator is life expectancy that reflects the mortality of a nation, hence illustrating the health and disease levels in the population. As is in the case in other developed countries, life expectancy has increased and it is is expected to rise in the near future. In 2005, life expectancy for men was 78.0 years while that of women was 82.7 years. This represents a significant increase from 1956 where it stood at 67.7 years for men and 73.0 years for females. Projections indicate that the expected life expectancy will increase gradually over the years. (Statistics Canada 2008). The second indicator is the composition of the total population. From the data presented, the population of those aged 65 years and above stood at 17.3% in 2014, up from 7.7% in 1956 and 13.7% in 2006. It is projected that the population of the senior citizens will increase gradually over the years. Similarly, the population of those aged 18 years and below declined from 37% in 1956 to 24% in 2006 (Statistics Canada 2008). The population of those aged 18 years and below is still expected to decline over the years. The third component is demographic dependency ratios that reveal the shifting age structure. The data above reflects a ratio imbalance between the number of the young population and that of the senior citizens.
The demographic shift has several impacts on a country. One of the effects presented by Statistics Canada (2008) is social and economic consequences. As many senior citizens retire, a vacuum is created in the labor force as there are no enough young entries into the employment sector. Similarly, there are fewer people to provide social and economic support to the seniors. In addition, changes in life expectancy, death rates and fertility results in has changed the population structure of the people of Canada.
Effects of Intentional discrimination based on age.
The remedies for age discrimination are offered depending on the jurisdictions. In Dinsdale (2015)â...