Bill 165 explained in plain English
Fair Minimum Wage Act, 2014
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 165, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, 2014, amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000, to establish an annual, inflation-adjusted minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index, starting October 1, 2015.
This bill, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, 2014, amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000, to change how the minimum wage in Ontario is determined and adjusted. Currently, the minimum wage is set by regulation. This bill introduces a new section to the Employment Standards Act that will set the minimum wage based on a formula tied to the Consumer Price Index, with annual adjustments on October 1st each year, starting in 2015. Certain categories of employees, such as students under 18, liquor servers, and homeworkers, will continue to have specific minimum wages until October 1, 2015. After that date, their minimum wage will also be determined by the new formula. The bill also includes provisions for rounding the adjusted wage to the nearest 5 cents and specifies that the minimum wage will not decrease due to these adjustments. The Minister will be required to publish the minimum wage rates annually. Additionally, the bill requires a review of the minimum wage and its adjustment process every five years, starting in 2020. It also makes changes to the Minister's regulation-making powers related to minimum wage provisions, including establishing rules for employees who are required to present themselves for work but work less than three hours.
- Amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000, to change how the minimum wage is determined and adjusted.
- Establishes a new process for the annual adjustment of the minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index, effective October 1, 2015.
- Specifies that the minimum wage will not be decreased by annual adjustments.
- Requires the Minister to publish minimum wage rates annually.
- Mandates a review of the minimum wage and its adjustment process every five years, starting in 2020.
- Modifies the Minister's powers to make regulations regarding minimum wage provisions.
- Employees in Ontario
- Employers in Ontario
- The Minister of Labour
- Statistics Canada (as the source of the Consumer Price Index)
- Employers are obligated to pay at least the minimum wage as determined by the new provisions.
- Employees have the right to receive at least the minimum wage.
- The Minister is required to publish minimum wage rates annually.
- The Minister is required to initiate a review of the minimum wage and adjustment process every five years.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Section 3 of the Act comes into force on October 1, 2015.
- The annual adjustment of the minimum wage is to occur on October 1 of every year starting in 2015.
- The Minister must publish minimum wages not later than April 1 of every year after 2014, for the following October 1.
- A review of the minimum wage and adjustment process must commence before October 1, 2020, and every five years thereafter.
- The bill impacts the wages paid to employees, as the minimum wage will be adjusted annually based on inflation.
- The bill does not specify new penalties, but changes to the minimum wage provisions could affect existing enforcement mechanisms under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.
- The specific minimum wage amounts for certain employee categories (students under 18, liquor servers, homeworkers, hunting/fishing guides) are referred to as 'prescribed' and were set out in regulations prior to this bill. The bill indicates these specific rates apply until September 30, 2015, after which the general adjustment formula applies, unless other specific rates are prescribed under new provisions.
- The bill does not specify the exact Consumer Price Index values to be used for the initial adjustment, only the method of calculation.
- The exact timing and scope of the five-year reviews are not fully detailed.
This bill amends the Act to change how the minimum wage is determined and adjusted annually, introducing a new section (23.1) and modifying existing sections related to minimum wage settings.
Source: Section 1, Section 2, Section 3
Removes the word "prescribed" from the subsection related to the minimum wage.
Source: Section 1 (1)
Removes the word "prescribed" from the portion before clause (a) and from clause (a) and clause (b) of this subsection.
Source: Section 1 (2), Section 1 (3), Section 1 (4)
Adds a new section (23.1) that details how the minimum wage is determined, adjusted annually, and published.
Source: Section 2
The original paragraph 2, which dealt with establishing rules respecting the application of minimum wage provisions, is repealed and replaced with new provisions that include establishing rules respecting the application of minimum wage provisions and prescribing specific employee classes and their minimum wages.
Source: Section 3
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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