OTTAWA -- The Commissioner of Canada Elections has rapped the knuckles of a northern Ontario construction company for docking its employees pay when they left early to cast ballots in the 2015 federal election.
A supervisor at William Day Construction Ltd. told 27 employees in Timmins that they could leave to vote before the end of their shift, but they wouldn't be paid for the half hour they missed, according to the details of a compliance agreement posted online Thursday.
Under Canadian election law, voters have the right to three consecutive hours to cast their ballots. If their workday doesn't allow for that, employers must give employees paid time off so they can vote.
Ontario's voting hours on Oct. 19, 2015 were 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., while the workers at William Day were scheduled for a 12.5-hour shift ending at 7 p.m., according to the agreement. The employees asked to leave at 6:30 p.m. and the supervisor allowed that, but wouldn't pay them for it.
The company "quickly investigated" and promptly paid the employees once it learned it had broken the law, the agreement says. It also accepted responsibility. The Commissioner of Canada Elections took into account the facts that the employees were allowed to leave, the company has no history of non-compliance, and only one work site was affected.
The compliance agreement means the company won't be prosecuted for breaking the election law. The company has provided proof to the commissioner that the workers were paid, and has pledged to develop a policy in the next month to make sure employees can take their voting time in the future. The company will have to remind supervisors and workers of the policy every time a federal election is called, and has to post a summary of the case on its website for a month.
The Commissioner of Canada Elections is an independent officer, whose office is housed within the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, responsible for enforcing the Canada Elections Act and the Referendum Act.
