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Ontario’s Pay Equity Act

with Selected Case References, 2022

Disclaimer: This Guide gives an overview of the minimum requirements of the Pay Equity Act as interpreted by the Pay Equity Office. The interpretations are drawn from our own experiences and by applying the key rulings of the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal and the courts and is current to the date ​of publication.

Schedule

1.The public sector in Ontario consists of,

(a) the Crown in right of Ontario, every agency thereof, and every authority, board, commission, corporation, office or organization of persons a majority of whose directors, members or officers are appointed or chosen by or under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or a member of the Executive Council;

(b) the corporation of every municipality in Ontario, every local board as defined by the Municipal Affairs Act, and every authority, board, commission, corporation, office or organization of persons whose members or officers are appointed or chosen by or under the authority of the council of the corporation of a municipality in Ontario;

(c) every board as defined in the Education Act, and every college, university or post-secondary school educational institution in Ontario the majority of the capital or annual operating funds of which are received from the Crown;

(d) every hospital referred to in the list of hospitals and their grades and classifications maintained by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care under the Public Hospitals Act and every private hospital operated under the authority of a licence issued under the Private Hospitals Act;

(e) every corporation with share capital, at least 90 per cent of the issued shares of which are beneficially held by or for an employer or employers described in clauses (a) to (d), and every wholly-owned subsidiary thereof;

(f) every corporation without share capital, the majority of whose members or officers are members of, or are appointed or chosen by or under the authority of, an employer or employers described in clauses (a) to (d), and every wholly- owned subsidiary thereof;

(g) every board of health under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, and every board of health under an Act of the Legislature that establishes or continues a regional municipality;

(h) the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Office of the Assembly, members of the Assembly, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Auditor General; and

(i) any authority, board, commission, corporation, office, person or organization of persons, or any class of authorities, boards, commissions, corporations, offices, persons or organizations of persons, set out in the Appendix to this Schedule or added to the Appendix by the regulations made under this Act.

2. Repealed: 2002, 17, Sched. C, s. 21.

Helen Henderson Care Centre v. Service Employees’ International Union, Local 183, 2001 CanLII 28094 (ON PEHT) 2001-12-17 — The Applicants objected to an Order by the Review Officer declaring that the Employers in the retirement home and nursing home are seeking employers. This matter involved determining whether the Applicants are public sector employers, given that seeking employers must be public sector employers. The Tribunal found that section 1(i) of the Schedule has clear and unambiguous language about the entities that constitute the public sector. Considering this, the Employers were found to be seeking employers. The Tribunal also held that in deciding whether an entity is a public sector, only the provisions of Act needs to be considered, and not any other statutes.

Parkdale Focus Community Project v. Group of Employees, 2000 CanLII 22422 (ON PEHT) 2000-06-19 — The Applicant sought to revoke the Order of a Review Officer that declared it a public sector employer and thereby, a seeking employer. The Review Officer found that the Applicant is a public sector employer because it provides services relating to addiction, according to s.1(h.1) of the Appendix. The Applicant argued that it has never provided services relating to addiction and therefore is not a public sector agency. Tribunal found that the Applicant provided services aimed at preventing alcoholism and the abuse of alcohol and other drugs, which constitutes as services related to addiction. The Tribunal held that such services are funded by the Ministry of Health and falls under s.1(h.1) of the Appendix and the Applicants are considered to be public sector employers for the purpose of the Act.

Three Trilliums Community Place Inc. v. Confidential Employee, 2011 CanLII 43021 (ON PEHT) 2011-07-15 — The Applicant sought to rescind the 2003 Order that declared it a seeking employer, arguing that it is not a public sector employer. The Tribunal found that following the seeking employer declaration, the Applicant proceeded to prepare a pay equity plan using the proxy methodology. Therefore, the Tribunal decided that regardless of the whether the Applicant is a public or private sector employer, since it did not object to the Order, the pay equity plan is binding. The Tribunal ruled that rescinding the order does not rescind the contracts entered pursuant to it.

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