Forward Regulatory Plan: 2022 to 2024

Enabling Acts

• Canada Student Financial Assistance Act;
• Canada Student Loans Act

Description

The objective of the regulatory amendments would be to help improve access to primary health care in rural and remote communities.

To help bring more health care workers to the communities that need them most, Budget 2022 proposed to increase the maximum amount of forgivable Canada Student Loans by 50 percent for family doctors, residents in family medicine, nurse practitioners and nurses, starting in 2023 to 2024. The mandate letter of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion also identified this commitment.

Regulatory cooperation efforts (domestic and international)

N/A

Potential impacts on Canadians, including businesses

There would be no business impacts. The “One-for-One” Rule and/or the small business lens would not apply.

Consultations

A consultation process on the Budget 2022 announcements pertaining to Canada Student Loan Forgiveness is currently underway and is expected to continue into fall 2022. The Canada Student Financial Assistance Program has consulted student financial assistance stakeholders, including those representing students and postsecondary institutions, through the National Advisory Group on Student Financial Assistance. The Program is consulting provinces and territories through the intergovernmental tables focused on student financial assistance and on health workforce. The Program is also consulting with numerous stakeholder organizations with knowledge of the health care needs of rural and remote communities, including associations representing a variety of health care professionals.

Further information

N/A

Departmental contact information

Jonathan Wallace
Director General, Canada Student Financial Assistance Program
Learning Branch
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-654-8446
jonathan.wallace@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Enabling Act

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Description

The objective of the proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) is to protect workers under the TFW Program from unsafe and unsuitable accommodations. The aim of these amendments would be to address some of the most pressing health and safety concerns conveyed by stakeholders regarding employer-provided accommodations.

The intent would be to grant the Government of Canada the authority to require that employers provide explicit proof to the federal government that the employer-provided accommodations are compliant with provincial, territorial or municipal standards. This proof would be required when an employer submits a request for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Employers would be expected to ensure that accommodations remain within the scope of acceptable Program compliance requirements during the period of employment of the TFW.

This initiative responds to previous commitments to establish accommodation requirements and conditions under the TFW Program as set out in multiple Ministerial announcements, as well as the Auditor General’s recommendation published in 2021.

Regulatory cooperation efforts (domestic and international)

These proposed amendments would likely involve regulatory cooperation efforts. Provinces and territories generally have jurisdiction over accommodation-related laws. ESDC is collaborating with provincial/territorial partners on the development of proposed program changes to address concerns related to unsafe and unsuitable worker accommodations.

Potential impacts on Canadians, including businesses

The proposed amendments could have impacts on business. The "One-for-One" Rule and / or the small business lens may apply. The development of enhanced regulatory requirements for employer-provided accommodations would take into consideration any compliance or administrative costs potentially incurred by small businesses, particularly in the agriculture sector. The implementation timeframe would also give any impacted stakeholders sufficient time to comment, adjust and prepare to meet new requirements.

Consultations

ESDC held public consultations on employer-provided accommodations in the agriculture sector from October 27 to December 20, 2020, to help inform improvements to the TFW Program in the area of worker accommodations. Feedback was received from a range of stakeholders representing migrant workers, migrant worker support organizations, employers, industry associations, provincial/territorial governments, municipalities, fire chiefs and associations, public health units, unions, labour groups, academia, and foreign governments. The details of these consultations were posted to the Consulting with Canadians website.

ESDC is collaborating with provincial/territorial partners on the development of proposed Program changes to address concerns related to unsafe and unsuitable worker accommodations. More specifically, ESDC hosted a Ministerial Roundtable on the matter that included representatives from provinces and territories, as well as employers and migrant worker support organizations. Further consultation on these proposed Program changes will be sought through publication in Canada Gazette, Part I.

Moving forward, the Government of Canada will continue to seek opportunities to engage, collaborate, and assist all levels of government to ensure continued collective action and to ensure effective implementation of resulting changes.

Further information

The information collected through the fall 2020 consultations on Mandatory Requirements for Employer-Provided Accommodations has provided valuable insights to advance work on this important issue. A ‘What We Heard Report’ summarizing feedback from these consultations was released on December 1, 2021.

In March 2022, ESDC assembled a Federal, Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Accommodations to collaborate on the design and implementation of ESDC’s proposed new requirements and conditions. As part of this work, ESDC hosted a Ministerial Roundtable on housing standards in July 2022, which provided an opportunity to engage with key stakeholders. Representatives from provinces, territories, and municipalities, as well as from source nations and migrant worker organizations, attended and provided feedback on accommodations.

Departmental contact information

Brian Hickey
Director General, Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Skills and Employment Branch
Employment and Social Development Canada
613-462-2595
brian.hickey@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Enabling Act(s)

• Accessible Canada Act

Description

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) aims to create a barrier-free Canada by 2040 through the identification, removal and prevention of barriers in seven areas, including information and communication technologies (ICT).

To that end, the ACA provides authority to make regulations based upon standards that are intended to remove barriers and improve accessibility in the seven areas.

The Department plans to start early engagement in fall 2022. Regulations, based on an ICT accessibility standard, will be drafted for Canada Gazette, Part I consultations in 2023 with a view to having the final version published in Canada Gazette, Part II in 2024.

Regulatory cooperation efforts (domestic and international)

ESDC is forming a working group with ACA regulatory partners, Canadian Transportation Agency and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, as well as the Canadian Human Rights Commission, of which the Accessibility Commissioner is a member. The working group will ensure regulatory alignment.

A technical advisory group of ICT accessibility experts from across the Government of Canada is also being formed to provide input to regulatory development.

ESDC also liaises with Accessible Standards Canada, which is developing a standard on ICT accessibility.

Potential impacts on Canadians, including businesses

There would be cost implications for federally-regulated entities and a cost-benefit analysis is being conducted.

Consultations

Early engagement with federally-regulated entities and disability organizations will be held virtually, using a variety of engagement modalities, such as online publication and virtual meetings with the disability community and federally-regulated entities, in fall 2022 - early 2023. The feedback received once draft regulations are posted in the Canada Gazette, Part I in 2023 would be integrated into the final version for publication and coming into force in 2024.

Further Information

N/A

Departmental contact information

Rupa Bhawal-Montmorency
Director General
Accessible Canada Directorate
rupa.bhawalmontmorency@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
819-230-4916

Date the regulatory initiative was first included in the Forward Regulatory Plan

September 2022

Enabling Acts

• Canada Student Financial Assistance Act;
• Canada Student Loans Act

Description

On October 15, 2020, ESDC was notified of issues with regulatory amendments published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on September 16, 2020. These regulations implemented interest-free and payment-free leave from student loan repayment for medical or parental reasons.

Specifically, the proposed amendments would align the French version of the definition of "parental leave" with the English version as originally intended. The proposed amendments would also clarify that the Minister shall grant leave from repayment to a borrower when the eligibility requirements set out in the regulations are met and ensure that the Minister has sufficient authority to grant extensions to a leave from repayment.

Regulatory cooperation efforts (domestic and international)

N/A

Potential impacts on Canadians, including businesses

There are no expected business impacts.

Consultations

The regulations to implement leave from student loan repayment for medical and parental reasons were pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on February 8, 2020 for public comment. There are no further opportunities for comment.

Further information

N/A

Departmental contact information

Jonathan Wallace
Director General, Canada Student Financial Assistance Program
Learning Branch
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-654-8446
jonathan.wallace@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Enabling Acts

• Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1;
• Department of Employment and Social Development Act

Description

The Social Security Tribunal (SST) began operations in 2013 to replace four separate administrative tribunals. The objective of creating a single-window Tribunal was to streamline and simplify the appeals process for social security benefits programs. While some savings were generated, many of the changes introduced with the Tribunal proved to be overly legalistic, complicated and inefficient.

Subsequent to a third-party review, in August 2019, the Government committed to introduce legislation to reform the SST and make the appeals process for Employment Insurance and Income Security programs, which includes the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Pension Plan Disability and Old Age Security, easier to navigate and more responsive to the needs of Canadians.

Several non-legislated operational improvements have already been implemented to make the process more client-centric, timely, simpler and more accessible. Further improvements to the recourse process required legislative and regulatory changes.

Legislative amendments to the Department of Employment and Social Development Act were included in Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, which received Royal Assent on June 29, 2021.

Pursuant to the legislation, the SST Chairperson now has the authority to make rules of procedure, and as a result, much of what is contained in the current Social Security Tribunal Regulations will no longer be required. This regulatory proposal seeks to repeal the current regulations and replace them with new regulations to respond to input received by stakeholders, ensure oversight and protect claimants’ rights in the following three key areas: constitutional issues, choice of form of hearing, and confidentiality of proceedings.

The target coming into force date for the final SST Regulations, 2022 and the SST Rules of Procedure is fall 2022.

Regulatory cooperation efforts (domestic and international)

N/A

Potential impacts on Canadians, including businesses

No business impacts. The "One-for-One" Rule and / or the small business lens will not apply.

Consultations

Extensive consultations were undertaken in 2018 with external Income Security and Employment Insurance stakeholders and representatives of the SST and the Administrative Tribunal Support Service of Canada (ATSSC) before finalizing the proposed client-centric improvements and the legislative amendments. The Department of ESD is committed to ongoing collaboration with the ATSSC and the SST during the development of the regulations and rules of procedure to ensure appropriate alignment and coordination of stakeholder consultation.

The draft SST Regulations, 2022 were published on May 28, 2022 in the Canada Gazette, Part I, for a 30-day comment period. The draft SST Rules of Procedure were simultaneously posted directly on the SST’s website for the same time period.

No comments on the draft regulations were received from stakeholders.

Further information

N/A

Departmental contact information

Lorraine Pelot
Director General, Canada Pension Plan Disability
Income Support and Social Development
Employment and Social Development Canada
343-543-9607
lorraine.pelot@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca