Bill C-40, An Act to Amend the Canada Labour Code, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, the Canada Student Loans Act, and the Public Service Employment Act, has passed first reading. As was reported in Labour Notes

1347, dated January 30, 2008, the Bill, if passed, would protect the jobs of federally regulated employees who are members of the Canadian Reserve Forces by providing an entitlement to unpaid leave to take part in Forces operations or activities. Such protection is currently available to reservists who work for employers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
In order to qualify for the leave, the employee would have to have completed a minimum of six consecutive months of employment with the employer. Unless there was a valid reason for not doing so, the employee would be required to give at least four weeks' notice to the employer before the day on which the leave was to begin, and of the anticipated length of the leave. The employer would be able to request proof of the leave of absence, and would be able to delay the return to work of the employee if it received insufficient notice of the end of the leave. The Public Service Employment Act would also be amended to provide federal public service employees who are members of the Canadian Reserve Forces with the right to reinstatement to their former positions at the end of a leave of absence that they take in order to participate in Forces operations or activities.

In addition to the unpaid leave entitlement, Bill C-40 would amend the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act and the Canada Student Loans Act to authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations exempting reservists from the payment of interest on their loans or deferring the payment of principal or interest on those loans.

Bill C-40 received first reading on February 4, 2008. Readers will be updated on the progress of this Bill.

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