Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Search

Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1 (S.C. 2021, c. 23)

Assented to 2021-06-29

PART 4Various Measures (continued)

DIVISION 29Student Loans and Apprentice Loans (continued)

1994, c. 28Canada Student Financial Assistance Act

 The Canada Student Financial Assistance Act is amended by adding the following after section 9.3:

Period — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023

Marginal note:Suspension of interest

9.4 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on a student loan.

2014, c. 20, s. 483Apprentice Loans Act

 The Apprentice Loans Act is amended by adding the following after section 8.1:

Period — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023

Marginal note:Suspension of interest

8.2 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan.

Coordinating Amendments

Marginal note:Bill C-14

  •  (1) Subsections (2) to (10) apply if Bill C-14, introduced in the 2nd session of the 43rd Parliament and entitled the Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020 (in this section referred to as the “other Act”), receives royal assent.

  • (2) If section 6 of the other Act comes into force before section 263 of this Act, then

    • (a) that section 263 is deemed never to have come into force and is repealed; and

    • (b) section 11.3 of the Canada Student Loans Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:

      Period — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023

      Marginal note:Suspension of interest

      11.3 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on a guaranteed student loan.

  • (3) If section 263 of this Act comes into force before section 6 of the other Act, then that section 6 is deemed never to have come into force and is repealed.

  • (4) If section 263 of this Act comes into force on the same day as section 6 of the other Act, then that section 263 is deemed to have come into force before that section 6 and subsection (3) applies as a consequence.

  • (5) If section 7 of the other Act comes into force before section 264 of this Act, then

    • (a) that section 264 is deemed never to have come into force and is repealed; and

    • (b) section 9.4 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:

      Period — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023

      Marginal note:Suspension of interest

      9.4 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on a student loan.

  • (6) If section 264 of this Act comes into force before section 7 of the other Act, then that section 7 is deemed never to have come into force and is repealed.

  • (7) If section 264 of this Act comes into force on the same day as section 7 of the other Act, then that section 264 is deemed to have come into force before that section 7 and subsection (6) applies as a consequence.

  • (8) If section 8 of the other Act comes into force before section 265 of this Act, then

    • (a) that section 265 is deemed never to have come into force and is repealed; and

    • (b) section 8.2 of the Apprentice Loans Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:

      Period — April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023

      Marginal note:Suspension of interest

      8.2 During the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan.

  • (9) If section 265 of this Act comes into force before section 8 of the other Act, then that section 8 is deemed never to have come into force and is repealed.

  • (10) If section 265 of this Act comes into force on the same day as section 8 of the other Act, then that section 265 is deemed to have come into force before that section 8 and subsection (9) applies as a consequence.

DIVISION 30First Nations Elections

Marginal note:Regulations deemed valid

 The First Nations Election Cancellation and Postponement Regulations (Prevention of Diseases), made on April 7, 2020 and registered as SOR/‍2020-84, and the Regulations Amending the First Nations Election Cancellation and Postponement Regulations (Prevention of Diseases), made on April 8, 2021 and registered as SOR/‍2021-78, are deemed to have been validly made and everything done under, and all consequences flowing from, those Regulations since April 8, 2020 are deemed effective as if those Regulations were so made.

DIVISION 31Increase to Old Age Security Pension and Payment

R.S., c. O-9Old Age Security Act

 Paragraph (c) of the definition income in section 2 of the Old Age Security Act is amended by adding the following after subparagraph (i):

 Subsection 2.1(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Amount of full monthly pension

  • 2.1 (1) In this Act, a reference to the amount of a full monthly pension means the amount of a full monthly pension, as it is calculated in accordance with section 7, that has not been increased under subsection 7.1(1) or (2).

 Subsection 3(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:

  • Marginal note:Amount of partial pension

    (3) Subject to subsection 7.1(3), the amount of a partial monthly pension, for any month, shall bear the same relation to the amount of the full monthly pension for that month as the aggregate period that the applicant has resided in Canada after attaining 18 years of age and before the day on which the application is approved, determined in accordance with subsection (4), bears to 40 years.

 Section 7 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (4):

  • Marginal note:Full monthly pension — persons aged 75 years or older

    (5) Beginning in the payment quarter commencing on July 1, 2022, for the period that begins in the month after the month in which a person attains 75 years of age, the amount of the full monthly pension, as it is calculated in accordance with subsections (1) to (4), is increased by 10%.

  •  (1) Subsections 7.1(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:

    Marginal note:Voluntary deferral — full monthly pension

    • 7.1 (1) If a person applies for their pension after they become qualified to receive a full monthly pension, the amount of that pension, as it is calculated in accordance with subsections 7(1) to (4), is increased by 0.6% for each month in the period that begins in the month after the month in which the person becomes qualified for that pension and that ends in the month in which the person’s application is approved.

    • Marginal note:Voluntary deferral — partial monthly pension

      (2) If a person applies for their pension after they become qualified to receive a partial monthly pension, the amount of that pension, as it is calculated in accordance with subsection 3(3) without regard to subsection 7(5), at the time that they become qualified for that pension, is increased by 0.6% for each month in the period that begins in the month after that time and that ends in the month in which the person’s application is approved.

  • (2) Section 7.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (4):

    • Marginal note:Full monthly pension — persons aged 75 years or older

      (5) Beginning in the payment quarter commencing on July 1, 2022, for the period that begins in the month after the month in which a person attains 75 years of age, the amount of the full monthly pension, as it is increased under subsection (1), is increased by 10%.

    • Marginal note:Partial monthly pension — persons aged 75 years or older

      (6) Beginning in the payment quarter commencing on July 1, 2022, for the period that begins in the month after the month in which a person attains 75 years of age, the amount of the partial monthly pension, as it is increased under subsection (2), is increased by 10%.

 The description of B in paragraph 12(6)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

B
is the product
  • (i) obtained by multiplying the amount of the full monthly pension, calculated without regard to subsection 7(5), that might have been paid to a pensioner for any month by the applicant’s special qualifying factor for the month, and

  • (ii) rounded, if that product is not a multiple of four dollars, to the next higher multiple of four dollars; and

 The definition pension equivalent in subsection 22(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

pension equivalent

pension equivalent means, in respect of any month in a payment quarter, the amount of the full monthly pension payable for that month under section 7 that has not been increased under subsection 7(5); (valeur de la pension)

Payment

Marginal note:Payment out of C.R.F.

 Any amount payable by the Minister of Employment and Social Development to pensioners, as defined in section 2 of the Old Age Security Act, who are or will be 75 years of age or older on June 30, 2022, in relation to a program to provide a one-time payment of $500 to those pensioners, may be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

DIVISION 322003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13Public Service Employment Act

Amendments to the Act

 The eighth paragraph of the preamble to the Public Service Employment Act is replaced by the following:

the Government of Canada is committed to an inclusive public service that reflects the diversity of Canada’s population, that embodies linguistic duality and that is characterized by fair, transparent employment practices, respect for employees, effective dialogue, and recourse aimed at resolving appointment issues;

  •  (1) Subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

    equity-seeking group

    equity-seeking group means a group of persons who are disadvantaged on the basis of one or more prohibited grounds of discrimination within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act. (groupe en quête d’équité)

  • (2) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (4):

    • Marginal note:References to error, omission or improper conduct

      (5) A reference in this Act to an error, an omission or improper conduct shall be construed as including an error, an omission or improper conduct that results from a bias or barrier that disadvantages persons who belong to any equity-seeking group.

 Section 17 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 17(1) and is amended by adding the following:

  • Marginal note:Biases and barriers

    (2) The power to conduct audits includes the power to determine whether there are biases or barriers that disadvantage persons belonging to any equity-seeking group.

 Section 31 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

  • Marginal note:Identification of biases and barriers

    (3) When establishing or reviewing qualification standards, the employer shall conduct an evaluation to identify whether they include or create biases or barriers that disadvantage persons belonging to any equity-seeking group. If a bias or barrier is identified in the course of the evaluation, the employer shall make reasonable efforts to remove it or to mitigate its impact on those persons.

 Section 36 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Marginal note:Assessment methods

  • 36 (1) In making an appointment, the Commission may, subject to subsection (2), use any assessment method, such as a review of past performance and accomplishments, interviews and examinations, that it considers appropriate to determine whether a person meets the qualifications referred to in paragraph 30(2)(a) and subparagraph 30(2)(b)(i).

  • Marginal note:Identification of biases and barriers

    (2) Before using an assessment method, the Commission shall conduct an evaluation to identify whether the assessment method and the manner in which it will be applied includes or creates biases or barriers that disadvantage persons belonging to any equity-seeking group and, if one is identified, make reasonable efforts to remove it or to mitigate its impact on those persons.

 Paragraph 39(1)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

  • (c) a Canadian citizen, within the meaning of the Citizenship Act, and a permanent resident, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, in any case where a person who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident is also a candidate.

Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Investigations

 Subsection 2(5) of the Public Service Employment Act, as enacted by subsection 277(2), applies only in respect of appointment processes that commence on or after the day on which that subsection 277(2) comes into force and investigations into those processes.

Marginal note:Qualifications standards

 Subsection 31(3) of the Public Service Employment Act, as enacted by section 279, applies only in respect of reviews that commence on or after the day on which that section 279 comes into force.

Marginal note:Assessment methods

 Subsection 36(2) of the Public Service Employment Act, as enacted by section 280, applies only in respect of appointment processes that commence on or after the day on which that section 280 comes into force.

Marginal note:Preference

 Paragraph 39(1)(c) of the Public Service Employment Act, as enacted by section 281, applies only in respect of advertised external appointment processes that commence on or after the day on which that section 281 comes into force.

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Order in council

 Subsection 277(2) and section 280 come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

DIVISION 33Early Learning and Child Care

Marginal note:Payments out of C.R.F.

  •  (1) Any amount payable to a province under or in connection with a bilateral agreement in respect of early learning and child care for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021 may be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, until March 31, 2022, on the requisition of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, at the times and in the manner that that Minister considers appropriate.

  • Marginal note:Terms and conditions

    (2) That Minister may establish terms and conditions in respect of payments under the bilateral agreements with the provinces.

  • Marginal note:Maximum amount

    (3) For the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021, the maximum aggregate amount payable to the provinces under subsection (1) is $2,948,082,433.

 

Date modified: