On February 7, 2023, Labour Minister Harry Bains launched within the Legislative Meeting of British Columbia for first studying Invoice 2, Nationwide Day for Fact and Reconciliation Act. If handed into legislation, Invoice 2 will acknowledge the Nationwide Day for Fact and Reconciliation (September 30) as a public vacation in British Columbia and can set up it as a statutory vacation beneath the Employment Requirements Act.
Presently, solely the federal authorities, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon have formally acknowledged the Nationwide Day for Fact and Reconciliation as a statutory vacation.
Nonetheless, some provincially regulated employers in B.C. might already acknowledge the Nationwide Day for Fact and Reconciliation as a vacation, both voluntarily or pursuant to the phrases of collective agreements.
If handed, staff whose employment is ruled by the Employment Requirements Act, will likely be entitled to statutory vacation pay in accordance with that laws and/or their collective settlement, as relevant.
It’s anticipated that Invoice 2 will shortly make its means by way of the Legislative Meeting and obtain Royal Ascent previous to September 30, 2023. Nonetheless, because it has at present solely obtained first studying, it might be topic to revision previous to being handed into legislation by the Legislative Meeting.
Lawson Lundell’s Labour, Employment, and Human Rights Group will proceed to observe developments in respect of Invoice 2 and any modifications to British Columbia’s employment legislation. Keep tuned – additional updates will likely be posted on our weblog.