Bill C-630
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2nd Session, 41st Parliament,
62-63 Elizabeth II, 2013-2014
house of commons of canada
BILL C-630
An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Insurance Act (volunteer firefighters)
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
SHORT TITLE
Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Support for Volunteer Firefighters Act.
R.S., c. L-2
CANADA LABOUR CODE
2. The Canada Labour Code is amended by adding the following after section 246:
Division XIV.1
Volunteer Firefighters
Prohibition
246.1 (1) No employer shall, without good cause, prevent a person from acting as a firefighter called on an occasional basis (in this Act referred to as a “volunteer firefighter”) if that person has informed the employer of their obligations and advised the employer when, to act in that capacity, they must be absent from their work place, either by leaving work suddenly or by failing to appear at work.
Current employee
(2) No employer shall, without good cause, dismiss, suspend, lay off, demote or discipline an employee because they are a volunteer firefighter or take into account the fact that an employee is a volunteer firefighter in a decision to promote or train them if the employee has informed the employer of their obligations and advises the employer when, to act in that capacity, they must be absent from their work place, either by leaving work suddenly or by failing to appear at work.
Future employee
(3) No employer may, without good cause, refuse to employ a person because they are a volunteer firefighter.
1996, c. 23
EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT
3. The Employment Insurance Act is amended by adding the following after section 25:
Volunteer firefighter
25.1 (1) For the purposes of this Part, a claimant is unemployed, capable of working and available for that purpose during any period in which he or she provides eligible services as a volunteer firefighter.
Definition of “eligible services as a volunteer firefighter”
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), “eligible services as a volunteer firefighter” means services by an individual in the individual’s capacity as a firefighter on an occasional basis to a fire department that consist primarily in responding to and being on call for firefighting and related emergency calls, attending meetings held by the fire department and participating in required training related to the prevention or suppression of fires, but does not include services provided to a particular fire department if the individual provides firefighting services to the department otherwise than as a firefighter on an occasional basis.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons