Bill C-601 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Employment Insurance Act (severance pay)

This bill was last introduced in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, which ended in March 2011.

Sponsor

Irene Mathyssen  NDP

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of Dec. 8, 2010
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Income Tax Act to increase the registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) deduction limit to include a taxpayer’s one-time contribution of any severance pay to an RRSP.
This enactment also amends the Employment Insurance Act to require the Canada Employment Insurance Commission to make regulations to exclude severance pay from the determination of earnings when determining deductions from benefits or the commencement date of the payment of benefits.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Income Tax ActRoutine Proceedings

December 8th, 2010 / 3:35 p.m.
See context

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-601, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Employment Insurance Act (severance pay).

Mr. Speaker, today it is my privilege to table new legislation on severance pay and employment insurance benefits.

In the London community and across Canada, we have experienced the effects of plant closures and job losses and heard the stories of Canadians who have worked at plants for more than 30 years, only to be let go due to plant closures.

My bill is intended to address these often catastrophic economic disasters that families face, to reverse these setbacks and to replace them with hope and optimism.

The bill would allow any worker who has lost his or her job through no fault of that individual to make a one-time-only lump sum payment over the maximum allowable investment into their RRSP without financial penalty. It also would ensure that workers receive the maximum amount of EI benefit for which they are eligible.

After years of work, no individual should have to give up retirement security, a family home, the dreams of their children or hope for the future.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)