248. (1) The Minister may,

(a) for any of the purposes of this Part, cause an inquiry to be made into and concerning employment in any industrial establishment; and

(b) appoint one or more persons to hold the inquiry.

(2) A person appointed pursuant to subsection (1) has all of the powers of a person appointed as a commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act.

R.S., c. L-1, s. 62.

249. (1) The Minister may designate any person as an inspector for the purposes of this Part.

(2) For the purposes of this Part and the regulations, an inspector may

(a) inspect and examine all books, payrolls and other records of an employer that relate to the wages, hours of work or conditions of employment affecting any employee;

(b) take extracts from or make copies of any entry in the books, payrolls and other records mentioned in paragraph (a);

(c) require any employer to make or furnish full and correct statements, either orally or in writing, in such form as may be required, respecting the wages paid to all or any of his employees, and the hours of work and conditions of their employment;

(d) require an employee to make full disclosure, production and delivery to the inspector of all records, documents, statements, writings, books, papers, extracts therefrom or copies thereof or of other information, either orally or in writing, that are in the possession or under the control of the employee and that in any way relate to the wages, hours of work or conditions of his employment; and

(e) require any party to a complaint made under subsection 240(1) to make or furnish full and correct statements, either orally or in writing, in such form as may be required, respecting the circumstances of the dismissal in respect of which the complaint was made.

(3) An inspector may, at any reasonable time, enter on any place used in connection with a federal work, undertaking or business for the purpose of making an inspection authorized under subsection (2), and may, for that purpose, question any employee apart from his employer.

(4) The person in charge of any federal work, undertaking or business and every person employed thereon or in connection with the operation thereof shall give an inspector all reasonable assistance to enable the inspector to carry out his duties and functions under this Part or the regulations.

(5) The Minister shall furnish every inspector with a certificate of his designation as an inspector and on entering any place used in connection with a federal work, undertaking or business an inspector shall, if so required, produce the certificate to the person in charge of that place.

(6) An inspector may, in carrying out the inspector’s duties and functions, be accompanied or assisted by such persons as the inspector considers necessary.

(7) No inspector, and no person who has accompanied or assisted the inspector in carrying out the inspector’s duties and functions, shall be required to give testimony in any civil suit or civil proceedings, or in any proceeding under section 242 with regard to information obtained in carrying out those duties and functions or in accompanying or assisting the inspector, except with the written permission of the Minister.

(8) An inspector is not personally liable for anything done or omitted to be done by the inspector in good faith under the authority or purported authority of this Part.

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 249; 1993, c. 42, s. 35.

250. An inspector may administer all oaths and take and receive all affidavits and statutory declarations required with respect to the powers of the inspector set out in subsection 249(2) and certify to the administration, taking or receiving thereof.

R.S., c. L-1, s. 64.

251. (1) Where an inspector finds that an employer has failed to pay an employee any wages or other amounts to which the employee is entitled under this Part, the inspector may determine the difference between the wages or other amounts actually paid to the employee under this Part and the wages or other amounts to which the employee is entitled under this Part.

(2) Where an inspector determines pursuant to subsection (1) that there is a difference between the wages or other amounts actually paid to an employee and the wages or other amounts to which the employee is entitled and the amount of that difference is agreed to in writing by the employee and his employer, the employer shall, within five days after the date of the agreement, pay the amount

(a) to the employee on the direction of the inspector; or

(b) to the Minister.

(3) Where an employer pays the amount under subsection (2) to the Minister, the Minister shall, forthwith on receipt of the amount, pay it over to the employee who, pursuant to subsection (2), is entitled to the amount.

(4) No prosecution for failure to pay an employee the wages or other amounts to which the employee was entitled under this Part shall, without the written consent of the Minister, be instituted against the employer when the employer has made payment of any amount of difference in wages or other amounts in accordance with subsection (2).

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 251; 1993, c. 42, s. 36.

251.1 (1) Where an inspector finds that an employer has not paid an employee wages or other amounts to which the employee is entitled under this Part, the inspector may issue a written payment order to the employer, or, subject to section 251.18, to a director of a corporation referred to in that section, ordering the employer or director to pay the amount in question, and the inspector shall send a copy of any such payment order to the employee at the employee’s latest known address.

(2) Where an inspector concludes that a complaint of non-payment of wages or other amounts to which an employee is entitled under this Part is unfounded, the inspector shall so notify the complainant in writing.

(3) Service of a payment order or a copy thereof pursuant to subsection (1), or of a notice of unfounded complaint pursuant to subsection (2), shall be by personal service or by registered or certified mail and, in the case of registered or certified mail, the document shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee on the seventh day after the day on which it was mailed.

(4) A certificate purporting to be signed by the Minister certifying that a document referred to in subsection (3) was sent by registered or certified mail to the person to whom it was addressed, accompanied by an identifying post office certificate of the registration or certification and a true copy of the document, is admissible in evidence and is proof of the statements contained therein, without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the certificate.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.11 (1) A person who is affected by a payment order or a notice of unfounded complaint may appeal the inspector’s decision to the Minister, in writing, within fifteen days after service of the order, the copy of the order, or the notice.

(2) An employer or a director of a corporation may not appeal from a payment order unless the employer or director pays to the Minister the amount indicated in the payment order, subject to, in the case of a director, the maximum amount of the director’s liability under section 251.18.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.12 (1) On receipt of an appeal, the Minister shall appoint any person that the Minister considers appropriate as a referee to hear and adjudicate on the appeal, and shall provide that person with

(a) the payment order or the notice of unfounded complaint; and

(b) the document that the appellant has submitted to the Minister under subsection 251.11(1).

(2) A referee to whom an appeal has been referred by the Minister

(a) may summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce such documents and things as the referee deems necessary to deciding the appeal;

(b) may administer oaths and solemn affirmations;

(c) may receive and accept such evidence and information on oath, affidavit or otherwise as the referee sees fit, whether or not admissible in a court of law;

(d) may determine the procedure to be followed, but shall give full opportunity to the parties to the appeal to present evidence and make submissions to the referee, and shall consider the information relating to the appeal; and

(e) may make a party to the appeal any person who, or any group that, in the referee’s opinion, has substantially the same interest as one of the parties and could be affected by the decision.

(3) The referee shall consider an appeal and render a decision within such time as the Governor in Council may, by regulation, prescribe.

(4) The referee may make any order that is necessary to give effect to the referee’s decision and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the referee may, by order,

(a) confirm, rescind or vary, in whole or in part, the payment order or the notice of unfounded complaint;

(b) direct payment to any specified person of any money held in trust by the Receiver General that relates to the appeal; and

(c) award costs in the proceedings.

(5) The referee shall send a copy of the decision, and of the reasons therefor, to each party to the appeal and to the Minister.

(6) The referee’s order is final and shall not be questioned or reviewed in any court.

(7) No order shall be made, process entered or proceeding taken in any court, whether by way of injunction, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto or otherwise, to question, review, prohibit or restrain a referee in any proceedings of the referee under this section.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.13 (1) A regional director may issue a written order to a person who is or is about to become indebted to an employer to whom a payment order has been issued under subsection 251.1(1), to pay any amount owing to the employer, up to the amount stated in the payment order, directly to the Minister within fifteen days, in satisfaction of the payment order.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a bank or other financial institution that has money on deposit to an employer’s credit shall be deemed to be indebted to that employer.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.14 (1) Where the Minister receives moneys pursuant to this Division, the Minister shall deposit those moneys to the credit of the Receiver General in the account known as the “Labour Standards Suspense Account” or in any other special account created for the purposes of this section, and may authorize payments out of that account to any employee who is entitled to that money.

(2) The Minister shall maintain a detailed record of all transactions relating to the account.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.15 (1) Any person who is affected by a payment order issued under subsection 251.1(1) or a referee’s order made under subsection 251.12(4), or the Minister on the request of any such person, may, after fifteen days after the day on which the order is made, or after the day provided in the order for compliance, whichever is the later, file in the Federal Court

(a) a copy of the payment order; or

(b) a copy of the referee’s order, exclusive of the reasons therefor.

(2) After the expiration of the fifteen day period specified in an order to a debtor of the employer made under subsection 251.13(1), the regional director may file a copy of the order in the Federal Court.

(3) On the filing of a copy of an order in the Federal Court under subsection (1) or (2), the order shall be registered in the Court and, when registered, has the same force and effect, and all proceedings may be taken thereon, as if the order were a judgment obtained in that Court.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.16 The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the operation of sections 251.1 to 251.15.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.17 The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of payment orders, notices of unfounded complaint, and orders issued under subsection 251.13(1).

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.18 Directors of a corporation are jointly and severally liable for wages and other amounts to which an employee is entitled under this Part, to a maximum amount equivalent to six months’ wages, to the extent that

(a) the entitlement arose during the particular director’s incumbency; and

(b) recovery of the amount from the corporation is impossible or unlikely.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

251.19 For the purposes of section 251.18 and subsection 257(3), cooperatives shall be deemed to be corporations.

1993, c. 42, s. 37.

252. (1) Every employer shall furnish such information relating to the wages of his employees, their hours of work and their general holidays, annual vacations and conditions of work, and make such returns thereon from time to time as the Minister may require.

(2) Every employer shall make and keep for a period of at least thirty-six months after work is performed the records required to be kept by regulations made pursuant to paragraph 264(a) and those records shall be available at all reasonable times for examination by an inspector.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply in respect of hours worked by employees who are

(a) excluded from the application of Division I under subsection 167(2); or

(b) exempt from the application of sections 169 and 171 pursuant to regulations made under paragraph 175(1)(b).

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 252; R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 18; 1993, c. 42, s. 38.

253. (1) Where the Minister is authorized to require a person to furnish information under this Part or the regulations, the Minister may require the information to be furnished by a notice to that effect served personally or sent by registered or certified mail addressed to the latest known address of the person for whom the notice is intended, and that person

(a) where the notice is sent by registered or certified mail, shall be deemed to have received the notice on the seventh day after the day on which it was mailed; and

(b) shall furnish the information within such reasonable time as is specified in the notice.

(2) A certificate purporting to be signed by the Minister certifying that a notice was sent by registered or certified mail to the person to whom it was addressed, accompanied by an identifying post office certificate of the registration or certification and a true copy of the notice, is admissible in evidence and is proof of the statements contained therein without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the certificate.

(3) Where the Minister is authorized to require a person to furnish information under this Part or the regulations, a certificate of the Minister certifying that the information has not been furnished is admissible in evidence and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary is proof of the statements contained therein.

(4) A certificate of the Minister certifying that a document annexed thereto is a document or a true copy of the document made by or on behalf of the Minister shall be admitted in evidence and has the same force and effect as if it had been proven in the ordinary way.

(5) A certificate under this section signed or purporting to be signed by the Minister is admissible in evidence without proof of the Minister’s appointment or signature.

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 253; 1993, c. 42, s. 39.

254. (1) An employer shall, at the time of making any payment of wages to an employee, furnish the employee with a statement in writing setting out

(a) the period for which the payment is made;

(b) the number of hours for which the payment is made;

(c) the rate of wages;

(d) details of the deductions made from the wages; and

(e) the actual sum being received by the employee.

(2) The Minister may, by order, exempt any employer from any or all of the requirements of subsection (1).

R.S., c. L-1, s. 68.

254.1 (1) No employer shall make deductions from wages or other amounts due to an employee, except as permitted by or under this section.

(2) The permitted deductions are

(a) those required by a federal or provincial Act or regulations made thereunder;

(b) those authorized by a court order or a collective agreement or other document signed by a trade union on behalf of the employee;

(c) amounts authorized in writing by the employee;

(d) overpayments of wages by the employer; and

(e) other amounts prescribed by regulation.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(c), no employer shall, pursuant to that paragraph, make a deduction in respect of damage to property, or loss of money or property, if any person other than the employee had access to the property or money in question.

(4) The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing:

(a) deductions that an employer is permitted to make in addition to those permitted by this section; and

(b) the manner in which the deductions permitted by this section may be made by the employer.

1993, c. 42, s. 40.

255. (1) Where associated or related federal works, undertakings and businesses are operated by two or more employers having common control or direction, the Minister may, after affording to the employers a reasonable opportunity to make representations, by order, declare that for all purposes of this Part the employers and the federal works, undertakings and businesses operated by them that are specified in the order are, respectively, a single employer and a single federal work, undertaking or business.

(2) Where an order is made under subsection (1), the employers to which it applies are jointly and severally liable to the employees employed in the federal works, undertakings and businesses to which the order applies for overtime pay, vacation pay, holiday pay and other wages or amounts to which the employees are entitled under this Part.

R.S., c. 17(2nd Supp.), s. 17; 1977-78, c. 27, s. 25.

256. (1) Every person who

(a) contravenes any provision of this Part or the regulations, other than a provision of Division IX, subsection 252(2) or any regulation made pursuant to section 227 or paragraph 264(a),

(b) contravenes any order made under this Part or the regulations, or

(c) discharges, threatens to discharge or otherwise discriminates against a person because that person

(i) has testified or is about to testify in any proceedings or inquiry taken or had under this Part, or

(ii) has given any information to the Minister or an inspector regarding the wages, hours of work, annual vacation or conditions of work of an employee,

is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

(2) Every employer who contravenes any provision of Division IX or any regulation made pursuant to section 227 is guilty of

(a) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars; or

(b) an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars.

(3) Every employer who

(a) refuses or fails to keep any record that by subsection 252(2) or any regulation made under paragraph 264(a) the employer is required to keep, or

(b) refuses to make available for examination by an inspector at any reasonable time any such record kept by the employer,

is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for each day during which any such refusal or failure continues.

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 256; R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 19.

257. (1) A complaint or information under this Part may relate to one or more offences by one employer in respect of one or more of his employees.

(2) Proceedings in respect of an offence under this Part may be instituted at any time within but not later than three years after the time when the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.

(3) No proceeding against a director of a corporation in respect of an offence under this Part shall be instituted except with the consent of the Minister.

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 257; 1993, c. 42, s. 41.

258. (1) Where an employer has been convicted of an offence under this Part in respect of any employee, the convicting court shall, in addition to any other punishment, order the employer to pay to the employee any overtime pay, vacation pay, holiday pay or other wages or amounts to which the employee is entitled under this Part the non-payment or insufficient payment of which constituted the offence for which the employer was convicted.

(2) Where an employer has been convicted of an offence under this Part in respect of the discharge of an employee, the convicting court may, in addition to any other punishment, order the employer

(a) to pay compensation for loss of employment to the employee not exceeding such sum as in the opinion of the court is equivalent to the wages that would have accrued to the employee up to the date of conviction but for such discharge; and

(b) to reinstate the employee in his employ at such date as in the opinion of the court is just and proper in the circumstances and in the position that the employee would have held but for such discharge.

(3) In determining the amount of wages or overtime for the purposes of subsection (1), if the convicting court finds that the employer has not kept accurate records as required by this Part or the regulations, the employee affected shall be conclusively presumed to have been employed for the maximum number of hours a week allowed under this Part and to be entitled to the full weekly wage therefor.

R.S., c. L-1, s. 71; 1977-78, c. 27, s. 27.

259. An employer who refuses or fails to comply with an order of a convicting court made under section 258 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for each day during which such refusal or failure continues.

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 259; R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 20.

259.1 (1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Part punishable on summary conviction, no imprisonment may be imposed as punishment for the offence or in default of payment of any fine imposed as punishment.

(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Part and the fine that is imposed is not paid when required, the prosecutor may, by filing the conviction, enter as a judgment the amount of the fine and costs, if any, in a superior court of the province in which the trial was held, and the judgment is enforceable against the person in the same manner as if it were a judgment rendered against the person in that court in civil proceedings.

R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 20.

260. Where a person who makes a complaint to the Minister requests that his name and identity be withheld, his name and identity shall not be disclosed by the Minister or his officials except where disclosure is necessary for the purposes of a prosecution or is considered by the Minister to be in the public interest.

R.S., c. L-1, s. 72.

261. No civil remedy of an employee against his employer for arrears of wages is suspended or affected by this Part.

R.S., c. L-1, s. 73.

262. Where by this Part or the regulations the Minister is authorized to make any order in respect of any matter, the order may be made to apply generally or in particular cases or to apply to classes of employees or industrial establishments.

R.S., c. L-1, s. 74.

263. [Repealed, 1996, c. 11, s. 68]

264. The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Part and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

(a) requiring employers to keep records of wages, vacations, holidays and overtime of employees and of other particulars relevant to the purposes of this Part or any Division thereof;

(b) designating any branch, section or other division of any federal work, undertaking or business as an industrial establishment for the purposes of this Part or any Division thereof;

(c) governing the production and inspection of records required to be kept by employers;

(d) for calculating and determining wages received by an employee in respect of his employment, including the monetary value of remuneration other than money and, for the purposes of any provision or provisions of this Part specified in the regulations, the regular rate of wages of employees;

(e) for calculating and determining the regular rate of wages, on an hourly basis, of employees who are paid on any basis of time other than hourly or who are not paid solely on a basis of time;

(e.1) respecting the calculation and payment of the wages and other amounts to which an employee whose wages are paid on a commission basis, on a salary plus commission basis or on any other basis other than time is entitled to pursuant to Divisions V, VIII, X and XI;

(f) prescribing the maximum number of hours that may elapse between the commencement and termination of the working day of any employee;

(g) fixing the minimum period that an employer may allow his employee for meals, and the maximum period for which an employer may require or permit an employee to work or be at his disposal without a meal period intervening;

(h) requiring an employer in any industrial establishment to notify employees, by the publication of such notices, in such manner as may be prescribed, of

(i) the provisions of this Part or any regulation or order made under this Part,

(ii) the particulars of hours of work, including the hours at which shifts change,

(iii) the particulars of rest periods and meal periods, and

(iv) other matters related to hours and conditions of work of employees;

(i) providing for the payment of any wages of an employee to the Minister or to another person in the event that the employee cannot be found or in any other case;

(j) providing for the establishment of consultative or advisory committees to advise the Minister on any matters arising in relation to the administration of this Part; and

(k) for any other matter or purpose that under this Part is required or permitted to be prescribed by regulation.

R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 264; R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 21.

265. The Governor in Council may by regulation direct that this Part applies in respect of any employment, or any class or classes of employment, on or in connection with a work or undertaking set out in the regulation that is, or is part of, a corporation that is an agent of Her Majesty in right of a province and whose activities are regulated, in whole or in part, pursuant to the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

1996, c. 12, s. 4; 1997, c. 9, s. 125.

266. (1) The Governor in Council may by regulation exclude, in whole or in part, from the application of any of the provisions of this Part any employment, or any class or classes of employment, on or in connection with a work or undertaking set out in the regulation whose activities are regulated, in whole or in part, pursuant to the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

(2) On the recommendation of the Minister, the Governor in Council may make regulations relating to labour standards in relation to employment that is subject to a regulation made pursuant to subsection (1).

1996, c. 12, s. 4; 1997, c. 9, s. 125.

267. Subsections 121.2(3) to (8) apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of a regulation made pursuant to subsection 266(2) except that the references to “subsection (2)” in subsections 121.2(3) to (6) shall be read as references to subsection 266(2).

1996, c. 12, s. 4.