National Day for Truth and Reconciliation may become statutory holiday in British Columbia

On February 7, 2023 the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act received First Reading in the British Columbia Legislature.

If it becomes legislation, the Act would amend the Employment Standards Act to include September 30, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (“NDT&R”), among British Columbia’s statutory holidays.

British Columbia currently recognizes the following statutory holidays:

• New Years Day
• Family Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• B.C. Day
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

Provincially regulated employers in the province must generally provide an employee who has worked or earned wages for 15 of the 30 calendar days proceeding a statutory holiday with:

• A day off, with an average day’s pay; or
• If the employee has to work on a statutory holiday:
  • 1.5 times the employee's regular wage for the time worked up to 12 hours,
  • double the employee's regular wage for any time worked over 12 hours, and
  • an average day's pay.

Although British Columbia’s provincial public sector employers have recognized NDT&R since 2021, according to the British Columbia government, the proposed inclusion of NDT&R among the statutory holidays applicable to all provincially-regulated employers  is responsive to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action No. 80, and would bring British Columbia in-line with Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, and Canada as regards federally-regulated employers.

The government News Release can be accessed here.

For further information please, contact any of the members of the DLA Piper Canadian Employment and Labour Law Service Group listed here.