Order Fixing the 180th Day After the Day on Which this Order Is Made as the Day on Which Certain Provisions of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 Come into Force: SI/2026-18

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 9

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SI/2026-18 May 6, 2026

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2018, NO. 2

Order Fixing the 180th Day After the Day on Which this Order Is Made as the Day on Which Certain Provisions of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 Come into Force

P.C. 2026-380 April 23, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development, under subsection 534(5) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2, chapter 27 of the Statutes of Canada, 2018, fixes the 180th day after the day on which this Order is made as the day on which sections 451, 452, 461 and 493, subsections 498(1) to (3) and sections 501, 518 and 520 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

The Order in Council (Order), made under subsection 534(5) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 (the Act), fixes the 180th day after the day on which the Order is made as the day on which sections 451, 452, 461 and 493, subsections 498(1) to (3) and sections 501, 518 and 520 of the Act come into force. These provisions amend certain provisions of the Canada Labour Code (the Code).

Section 451 of the Act changes the title of Division III of Part III of the Code (Standard Hours, Wages, Vacations and Holidays) from “Equal Wages” to “Equal Treatment.”

Section 452 of the Act adds new sections 182.1 to 182.4 to the Code, which require employers to pay employees the same wage for the same work, regardless of their employment status (such as full-time, part-time, casual or temporary), unless the difference is due to a system based on seniority, merit, productivity or other criteria set by regulation. Employers cannot lower wages to comply with this rule. Employees can request that their employers conduct a wage review when they believe that their rate of wages does not comply with this rule, which requires employers to provide a written response to the employees within 90 days indicating whether they increased the rate of wages to comply with the rule or whether the current rate of wages complies with the rule. If wages are increased, employees must receive back pay. Employers cannot punish employees for making the wage review request. Employers must also share job and promotion opportunities with all employees, and the Governor in Council can make regulations to support these new sections.

Section 461 of the Act adds a new Division VI.1 (Temporary Help Agencies) to the Code (sections 203.01 to 203.5 of the Code), which applies to employers who are temporary help agencies and their employees. It bans agencies from charging employees or clients certain fees and from preventing employees from being hired directly by clients. It requires agencies to repay employees any prohibited fees and to pay agency employees the same wage as a client’s employees when they do the same work, with limited exceptions. Clients are prohibited from reducing their employees’ rates of wages in order to enable the agencies to comply with this rule. As with the equal treatment provisions, the new sections provide employees with a wage rate review mechanism and protection from reprisal for making a request to review wages. Finally, the new sections apply Part III’s inspection rules to clients and allow regulations to be made to support these new sections.

Section 493 of the Act amends paragraph 246.1(1)(a) of the Code to add references to new subsections 182.2(3) and 203.3(3) to the list of actions that permit employees to make reprisal complaints to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. This provides employees with access to a complaint mechanism when their employers take negative action against them for exercising their rights under these subsections.

Subsections 498(1) to (3) of the Act amend the complaint process set out in section 251.01 of the Code by adding new subsections 251.01(1.1) and 251.01(2.1) and amending subsection 251.01(3). Subsection 251.01(1.1) provides that an employee who requests a wage review must wait either for the employer’s response or for the 90-day response period to expire before filing a complaint under section 251.01 of the Code that the employer contravened the equal treatment or temporary help agency provisions. Subsection 251.01(2.1) sets out the time within which equal treatment and temporary help agency complaints can be filed. Complaints can be made within six months of the earlier of the day on which the employer responds to the request to review the rate of wages and the expiry of the review period or, if no review was requested, within six months of when the employee knew or should have known of the actions or circumstances giving rise to the complaints. Subsection 251.01(3) — which is also the subject of a coordinating amendment under subsection 622(7) of the Act — provides that the Head of Compliance and Enforcement may extend the time limits set out in subsection 251.01(2.1).

Section 501 of the Act adds subsection 251.1(1.2) to the Code, which limits the back-pay period that can be ordered by an inspector for equal treatment and temporary help agency complaints. Any payment order may only cover wage differences dating back to the earlier of the date the employee filed a complaint or the date the employee requested a wage review.

Section 518 of the Act creates a transition period for existing collective agreements. If a collective agreement already in effect when the new equal treatment rules come into force contains provisions allowing different wages based on employment status, those provisions prevail over the new provisions of the Code for up to two years. After that, the new equal treatment rules apply.

Section 520 of the Act provides a similar two-year transition period for collective agreements that apply to temporary help agency employees. If an existing agreement allows wage differences between agency employees and client employees doing the same work, those provisions continue to apply for up to two years after the new temporary help agency provisions take effect.

Objective

The objective of this Order is to bring into force specific amendments to the Code introduced by the Act, which are intended to ensure equal treatment for employees performing the same work, regardless of their employment status, and provide protection from unfair practices to employees, including those who are temporary help agency employees.

Background

The Code sets out the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees in federally regulated workplaces and is divided into four parts: Part I (Industrial Relations), Part II (Occupational Health and Safety), Part III (Standard Hours, Wages, Vacations and Holidays), and Part IV (Administrative Monetary Penalties).

Part III of the Code establishes basic labour standards (e.g. payment of wages, protected leaves) for persons employed in federal Crown corporations and federally regulated private-sector industries, such as

Part III of the Code does not apply to the federal public service. All other workplaces, which make up over 90% of the Canadian workforce, are under provincial or territorial labour and employment jurisdiction.

Implications

Upon coming into force, these amendments will strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work by ensuring employees are paid fairly regardless of their employment status (e.g. full-time, part-time, casual or temporary). Employees will also gain a clear right to request a wage review and receive a written response within a defined time frame, with protections against reprisals. This will empower employees to raise concerns without fear of retaliation and encourage employers to proactively assess and justify wage practices. The new rules will improve job quality for temporary help agency employees by prohibiting fee-charging practices, preventing barriers to permanent hiring, and requiring equal pay when agency employees perform the same work as client employees. These measures will reduce exploitation and increase labour mobility. The two-year transition periods for existing collective agreements will respect collective bargaining rights and existing agreements, allowing employers and unions time to negotiate. The authority to make supporting regulations will enable the Governor in Council to clarify definitions, outline exceptions, and adapt the framework over time, ensuring the regime is workable, consistent, and responsive to evolving labour market conditions.

The Order will bring the legislative amendments to the Code into force on the 180th day after the day on which the Order is made. Corresponding amendments to the Canada Labour Standards Regulations and the Administrative Monetary Penalties (Canada Labour Code) Regulations will come into force on that same day. The delay in bringing forward this Order was required to consult upon and develop the supporting regulations in such a way that, once in force, they would meet stakeholder needs. The time frame of 180 days is set to allow employers time to prepare and adjust policies given the relative complexity of these legislative and regulatory changes.

Consultation

In June 2019, the Labour Program held consultations on modern labour standards. A discussion paper pertaining to several amendments to Part III of the Code, including those concerning equal treatment and temporary help agencies, was shared with over 600 federally regulated stakeholders from the employer and employee communities, including Labour Standards Advisory Committee members, as well as with Indigenous partners, community organizations, and think tanks. Written submissions were received from 68 stakeholder groups but only a small number of comments were provided on the topic of equal treatment and temporary help agencies. All stakeholders agreed that key terms in the equal treatment and temporary help agency provisions require clearer definitions, though some cautioned that definitions should not undermine the intent of the Code.

Consultations on the regulations for this initiative were conducted online in 2022 and again following their pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I, in February 2025. These consultations focused on the proposed regulatory definitions and implementation readiness assessment.

No additional consultations were carried out specifically regarding the Order.

Contact

Charleen Armstrong
Executive Director
Labour Standards and Wage Earner Protection Program
Labour Program
Employment and Social Development Canada
Email: EDSCDMTConsultationNTModernesConsultationModernLSWDESDC@labour-travail.gc.ca