Order Fixing the Day on Which this Order Is Published as the Day on Which Certain Provisions of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 Come into Force: SI/2026-24

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 10

Registration
SI/2026-24 May 20, 2026

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2018, NO. 2

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

P.C. 2026-429 May 8, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the President of the Treasury Board and the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, under subsection 440(3) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2, chapter 27 of the Statutes of Canada, 2018, fixes the day on which this Order is published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, as the day on which sections 429 and 430, subsection 431(4) and sections 432 to 434, 437 and 438 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order in Council, made pursuant to subsection 440(3) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 (BIA 2018, No. 2), fixes the day on which this Order is published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, as the day on which sections 429 and 430, subsection 431(4) and sections 432 to 434, 437 and 438 of that Act come into force.

Objective

The objective of this Order in Council is to repeal the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (PSECA) and related provisions in the Budget Implementation Act, 2009 (BIA 2009) and the Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 2 (EAP 2013, No. 2).

With the advent of the new Pay Equity Act (PEA), the PSECA, which was never brought into force, no longer serves any purpose. The BIA 2018, No. 2, which enacted the PEA, also included the means to repeal the PSECA. If the PSECA were not repealed and were to come into force, there would be an overlap and inconsistency between two pay equity systems in the public sector, which may impact federal public service employees’ rights in relation to pay equity.

Background

The PSECA was enacted in 2009 via section 394 of the BIA 2009. It set out a proactive approach to pay equity for the federal public service (i.e. the core public administration and separate agencies).

While the PSECA was never brought into force because regulations needed to operationalize the PSECA were not enacted, certain transitional provisions in the BIA 2009 related to pay equity were brought into force that gave the Public Service Labour Relations Board (now referred to as the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board) [the Board] the jurisdiction to adjudicate public sector pay equity complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

On August 31, 2021, the new PEA came into force. It is much wider in scope than the PSECA, as it applies to both the federal public sector and the federally regulated private sector (e.g. interprovincial transportation, banking, etc.). Future pay equity complaints will be overseen by a Pay Equity Commissioner.

With both the PSECA and the PEA addressing pay equity, the PSECA no longer served any purpose. Therefore, when the PEA was enacted through the BIA 2018, No. 2, provisions were also included to repeal the PSECA and its related provisions in the BIA 2009 and the EAP 2013, No. 2.

Yet the repeal of the PSECA was deferred until all pay equity complaints before the Board could be resolved. Had the PSECA and the PSECA-related provisions in the BIA 2009 been repealed earlier, it would have impacted the pay equity complaints before the Board.

The final pay equity complaint before the Board was resolved on May 21, 2025. Therefore, the PSECA and the PSECA-related provisions in the BIA 2009 and the EAP 2013, No. 2 can now be repealed.

Implications

This Order in Council brings into force the BIA 2018, No. 2 sections 429 and 430, subsection 431(4), and sections 432 to 434, 437 and 438, which repeal provisions impacting the PSECA, the BIA 2009, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, and the EAP 2013, No. 2.

PSECA

Section 429 of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals section 394 of the BIA 2009 containing the majority of the PSECA. The PSECA sets out a proactive approach to pay equity for the federal public service; however, it was never brought into force. Repealing the PSECA will not have an impact, positive or negative, direct or indirect, to employees in female-predominant jobs in the federal public service.

BIA 2009

The PSECA-related transitional provisions are also repealed:

• Section 430 of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals section 395 of the BIA 2009, a transitional provision, which clarifies terminology used in sections 396 and 397 to align it with that used in the PSECA.
• Subsection 431(4) of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals section 396 of the BIA 2009, a transitional provision, which deals with the Board’s jurisdiction to hear pay equity complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
• Section 432 of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals sections 397 and 398 of the BIA 2009, a transitional provision (section 397) and a consequential amendment (section 398) respecting the jurisdiction of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (the Tribunal) to deal with pay equity complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Tribunal and the Board’s authority to issue monetary remedies.
• Section 434 of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals section 406 of the BIA 2009. Section 406 was not brought into force and would have provided the power to bring into force sections 394 and 401 to 404 of the BIA 2009. Sections 401 to 404 contain consequential amendments that would amend the Public Service Labour Relations Act (now called the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act) with respect to the Board’s mandate and powers respecting pay equity under the PSECA. It will no longer be necessary once the PSECA is repealed.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act

• Section 433 of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals sections 401 to 404 of the BIA 2009. Sections 401 to 404 contain consequential amendments that would amend the Public Service Labour Relations Act (now called the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act) with respect to the Board’s mandate and powers respecting pay equity under the PSECA. Sections 401 to 404 of the BIA 2009 are not in force.

EAP 2013, No. 2

• Bringing into force section 437 of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals subsection 364(1) of the EAP 2013, No. 2, which provides the authority to bring into force subsections 307(2) and 316(2) of the EAP 2013, No. 2. These two aforementioned subsections would have amended provisions in the Public Service Labour Relations Act respecting the Board’s powers when making an arbitral award to provide that they cannot preclude the operation of certain provisions of the PSECA.
• Section 438 of the BIA 2018, No. 2 repeals section 445 of the EAP 2013, No. 2. Section 445, which is a transitional provision of the PSECA, provides that any proceedings under the PSECA that commenced at the Public Service Labour Relations Board would continue after its name was changed to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.

This Order in Council is administrative in nature and will not impact Canadians, nor will it have any financial or economic implications or raise any legal or Charter risks.

Consultation

No external consultations were conducted given that with the advent of the new PEA, the PSECA and its related provisions in the BIA 2009 and the EAP 2013, No. 2, which were never brought into force, were no longer needed to address gender-based wage gaps between men and women performing work of equal value in the federal public service. The PEA addresses pay equity through proactive means in the federal public sector and federally regulated private sector.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat coordinated with the Privy Council Office, which is responsible for the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons to confirm the implicated provisions that fell under the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons’ area of responsibility and authority, and the proposed coming-into-force date.

Contact

Karen Izzard
Senior Policy Advisor
Employee Relations and Total Compensation
Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Email: Karen.Izzard@tbs-sct.gc.ca