Canadian Human Rights Benefit Regulations

2 (1) In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Canadian Human Rights Act; (Loi)

actuarial basis

actuarial basis means the basis of the assumptions and methods used by a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries to establish the costs of benefits under a benefit plan, taking into consideration the contingencies of human life, such as death, accident, sickness or disease; (base actuarielle)

benefit

benefit, in respect of a benefit plan, includes

• (a) an aggregate amount or an annual, a monthly or other periodic amount or the accrual of such amounts to which an employee or his beneficiary, survivor, spouse, child or dependant is or may become entitled under the plan on superannuation, retirement, termination of employment, disability, accident, sickness or death,

• (b) any amount to which one of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) is or may become entitled under the plan for medical, hospital, nursing, drug or dental expenses or other similar expenses, and

• (c) any amount to which one of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) is or may become entitled under the plan on superannuation, retirement or termination of employment or to which any person is or may become entitled under the plan on the death of another person; (prestation)

benefit plan

benefit plan means an insurance plan or a pension plan, whether or not the terms and conditions thereof have been set out in writing; (régime de prestations)

child

child, in relation to an employee under a benefit plan, has the meaning given that term under the plan, and includes a natural child, stepchild or adopted child; (enfant)

dependant

dependant, in relation to an employee under a benefit plan, has the meaning given that term under the plan; (personne à charge)

disability income insurance plan

disability income insurance plan or disability income benefit plan means a plan, fund or arrangement provided, furnished or offered to an employee that provides, in accordance with the terms of the plan, fund or arrangement, benefits to the employee for loss of income because of sickness, accident or disability; (régime d’assurance-revenu en cas d’invaliditéourégime de prestations en cas d’invalidité)

health insurance plan

health insurance plan or health benefit plan means a plan, fund or arrangement provided, furnished or offered to or in respect of an employee that provides, in accordance with the terms of the plan, fund or arrangement, benefits

• (a) to the employee or the spouse, child or dependant of the employee, or

• (b) in the case of a deceased employee, to the spouse, child or dependant of the employee,

for medical, hospital, nursing, drug or dental expenses or other similar expenses; (régime d’assurance-maladieourégime de prestations en cas de maladie)

insurance plan

insurance plan means a disability income insurance plan, a health insurance plan or a life insurance plan; (régime d’assurance)

life insurance plan

life insurance plan means a plan, fund or arrangement, provided, furnished or offered to an employee that provides, in accordance with the terms of the plan, fund or arrangement, benefits

• (a) on the death of the employee, to a beneficiary, survivor or dependant of the employee, or

• (b) on the death of the spouse, a child or a dependant of the employee, to the employee,

payable either in a lump sum or by periodic payments; (régime d’assurance-vie)

normal age of retirement

normal age of retirement, in respect of any employment or position of a person, means the maximum age applicable to that employment or position referred to in paragraph 14(b) of the Act or the age applicable to that employment or position referred to in paragraph 14(c) of the Act, as the case may be; (âge normal de la retraite)

normal pensionable age

normal pensionable age under a pension plan, means the earliest date specified in the plan on which an employee can retire from his employment and receive all the benefits provided by the plan to which he would otherwise be entitled under the terms of the plan, without adjustment by reason of early retirement, whether such date is the day on which the employee has attained a given age or on which the employee has completed a given period of employment; (âge normal ouvrant droit à la pension)

pension plan

pension plan means a superannuation, retirement or pension plan, fund or arrangement provided, furnished or offered to an employee that provides, in accordance with the terms of the plan, fund or arrangement, to or in respect of the employee on the superannuation, retirement or termination of employment of the employee, benefits that are determined by reference to

• (a) contributions made by the employee or his employer, or both, or

• (b) contributions referred to in paragraph (a) and the investment income, gains, losses and expenses in respect of those contributions,

and includes

• (c) a defined benefit pension plan under which the benefits are determined by reference to

  • (i) a percentage of the salary, wages or other remuneration of the employee in addition to the length of employment of the employee or a specified period of employment, or

  • (ii) the length of employment of the employee or a specified period of employment,

• (d) a money purchase pension plan under which the benefits are determined by reference to

  • (i) the accumulated amount of the contributions paid by or to the credit of the employee and the investment income, gains, losses and expenses in respect of those contributions, or

  • (ii) the accumulated amount of the benefits purchased by each contribution paid by or to the credit of the employee,

• (e) a profit-sharing pension plan under which contributions by an employer are determined by reference to the profits earned from his business and the benefits are determined by reference to

  • (i) the accumulated amount of the contributions paid by or to the credit of the employee and the investment income, gains, losses and expenses in respect of those contributions, or

  • (ii) the accumulated amount of the benefits purchased by each contribution paid by or to the credit of the employee, and,

• (f) a composite pension plan the terms and conditions of which are any combination of the terms and conditions of a defined benefit pension plan, a money purchase pension plan and a profit-sharing pension plan or any two of those plans; (régime de retraite)

spouse

spouse, in relation to an employee under a benefit plan, has the meaning given that term under the plan, and includes the person who is the common-law spouse of the employee within the meaning given that expression under the plan, if

• (a) for at least the minimum period determined in accordance with subsection (2),

  • (i) that person had been residing continuously with the employee who was a member of the opposite sex, whom by law that person was prohibited from marrying by reason of a previous marriage either of the employee or of himself, and

  • (ii) the employee and that person had been publicly represented as husband and wife, or

• (b) for at least the minimum period determined in accordance with subsection (3), that person had been residing continuously with the employee who was a member of the opposite sex and throughout that period the employee and that person had been publicly represented as husband and wife and at the time of the applicable event that causes a benefit to be paid under the terms of the plan neither that person nor the employee was married to any other person; (conjoint)

voluntary employee contribution

voluntary employee contribution means a contribution made voluntarily by an employee to or under a benefit plan, except a contribution the payment of which, under the terms of the plan, imposes on an employer an obligation to make a concurrent additional contribution to or under the plan. (contribution facultative de l’employé)

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition spouse in subsection (1), the minimum period in respect of a benefit plan is the period, not exceeding three years immediately before the applicable event that causes a benefit to be paid under the terms of the plan, that is specified under the terms of the plan.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition spouse in subsection (1), the minimum period in respect of a benefit plan is the period, not exceeding one year immediately before the applicable event that causes a benefit to be paid under the terms of the plan, that is specified under the terms of the plan.