Plans by the Ontario government to abolish mandatory retirement legislation have been welcomed by the Ontario Human Rights Commission as a step in the interest of older workers.

Although the province's former labor minister has estimated that a small fraction of the 100,000 Ontarians who turn 65 each year will take advantage of new legislation ending the Ontario's mandatory retirement law, he said it gives people the right to choose. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but you will have the right to choose," Chris Bentley said last June in announcing introduction of the bill.

Abolition of mandatory retirement in Ontario follows similar measures taken by Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Prince Edward Island, as well as three territories that no longer force workers to leave their jobs when they turn 65. The New Brunswick government has also announced it plans to revoke its mandatory retirement legislation, except for workers in jobs involving public safety.

The new law in Ontario, expected to be passed by the provincial legislature this fall, will take effect a year after receiving royal assent. Employees for whom physical ability or safety is a factor, such as police officers and firefighters, will still be required to retire at 65. "I am very pleased that the government has taken this step to respect the rights of older workers by introducing legislation that will enable individuals to decide for themselves when they wish to retire from the workplace rather than having this decision made for them by their employers," says Keith Norton, Ontario's chief commissioner of human rights. The OHRC considers mandatory retirement a form of age discrimination because it makes an employment decision on the basis of age, not the person's ability to do the job.

The Commission also feels that mandatory retirement undermines older Ontarians' independence, dignity, participation, and ability to make choices, contrary to the values of the province's Human Rights Code. The commission recommended the Code be amended to provide workers 65 and over the same human rights protections as others.

The proposed legislation does not impact on older employees' access to available retirement benefits, such as company plans, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, or the Ontario Seniors Drug Benefits Program. However, there is concern that employees aged 65 and older may not be entitled to other workplace benefits including disability, medical, dental or life-insurance, which are based solely on their age and which Norton said requires "further examination."

Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton was among those opposing the end to mandatory retirement, echoing the stand taken by several labour unions. The provincial government is justifying age discrimination with legislation that will allow employers to provide benefits to employees under 65, but deny them to those over 65, he charges.

The move, however, has long been endorsed by such groups as Canada's Association for the 50-Plus (CARP), which represents more than 400,000 retirement-age Ontarians.