The Government of Canada Stands up for the Canadian Reserve Force

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 4, 2008) - The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, today tabled a bill in the House of Commons to provide job protection for reservists who work for employers in federally regulated industries and the federal public sector. This legislation will also provide relief to student reservists.

"The Government of Canada believes that reservists deserve to have job protection because supporting the men and women who serve Canada is the right thing to do," said Minister Blackburn. "It is important that we do everything we can to ensure that our reservists never have to worry about being penalized for serving our country."

The proposed legislative amendments will be made to the Canada Labour Code, the Public Service Employment Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, the Canada Student Loans Act and other statutes and regulations as necessary. They will protect the civilian jobs of some 2,000 reservists who work for employers in federally regulated industries and the federal public sector. The amendments will also allow the 12,000 student reservists attending a post-secondary institution full time to retain their active student status for the purposes of the Canada Student Loan Program. Reservists who have student loans will not accrue interest on their loans and will not be required to make payments while on active duty.

"Student reservists will appreciate this support," said the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. "It will facilitate the return to studies for reservists once they return home."

The proposed legislative changes are part of a comprehensive reinstatement strategy for the Canadian Reserve Force announced on January 8, 2008. In addition to the proposed amendments, the federal government will also work with the provinces and territories regarding best practices and the uniform application of reservist reinstatement policies across Canada.

"Reservists are an integral part of Canada's military," said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. "With the assistance of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council, we will continue working with employers to ensure that our reservists have the support they need to continue being a vital and vibrant part of our Canadian Forces."

For more information, please visit www.labour.gc.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Job Protection for Canadian Reserve Force Personnel

Amendments to Part III of the Canada Labour Code

(Labour Standards)

Proposed Amendments

New legislation proposes to amend Part III of the Canada Labour Code in order to provide job protection for reservists who work for employers in federally regulated industries and the federal public sector.

- The proposed amendments will allow reservists who have completed at least six months of continuous employment with their employer to take a leave of absence without pay to participate in annual training or volunteer for designated domestic or international operations (e.g., Operation ATHENA in Afghanistan, peacekeeping missions, disaster relief and search and rescue operations).

- Reservists will also be entitled to reinstatement in the position they held prior to the leave or in an equivalent position, with some exceptions in case of a workplace reorganization or where accommodating an employee can only be done by offering a different position.

- In addition, new provisions of the Canada Labour Code will prohibit employers from penalizing employees who are reservists, or who apply for or take leave. Reservists will also be able to defer taking vacations while they are on leave.

- The leave will be unpaid, and employers will not have to provide benefits or make pension contributions during an employee's leave. Reservists receive pay and benefits from the Canadian Reserve Force during their periods of service. However, seniority will continue to accrue, and the periods of service with the employer immediately before and after the leave will be considered continuous service.

- Employees will have to provide advance notice of the start and end dates of their leave to their employer.

- Regulation-making powers will allow the Government, if necessary, to clarify certain terms or prescribe circumstances in which an employer may be exempted from one or more obligations related to these new provisions.

- Amendments to the Public Service Employment Act and to Treasury Board policies would provide equivalent protection to reservists who are employed in the federal public sector.

Canada Labour Code

The Labour Program of Human Resources and Social Development Canada is responsible for developing, administering, and enforcing legislation and regulations related to the workplace, including the Canada Labour Code. The Code governs industrial relations (Part I), occupational health and safety (Part II) and labour standards (Part III).

The primary objective of Part III is to establish and protect the employee's right to fair and equitable conditions of employment. It contains provisions setting out minimum labour standards for employers and employees under federal jurisdiction, including leave and vacation.

Part III of the Canada Labour Code applies to employees and employers in works, undertakings or businesses under the legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada.

Activities that fall within federal jurisdiction include:

- air and marine transportation;

- interprovincial and international rail, road and pipeline transportation;

- banking;

- broadcasting;

- telecommunications; and

- Crown corporations.

BACKGROUNDER

Canada's Reserve Force

Canada's Reserve Force is an important part of Canada's national heritage. The Reserve Force officially came into being with the passage of the Militia Act of 1855. The Naval and Air Reserves were established in 1914 and 1924 respectively.

The primary role of the Reserve Force is to augment, sustain, and support the Regular Force. In recent years, reservists have made substantial contributions to Canada's international efforts and domestic relief operations.

There are over 9,500 reservists on full-time employment within the Canadian Forces. Since the year 2000, more than 4,600 primary reservists have been deployed for Canadian Forces operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Haiti, and other international hot spots.

At home, reservists have contributed in numerous ways over the years. They have assisted during Search and Rescue operations; provided aid to the homeless during bitterly cold weather in Toronto; responded to public needs following severe snowstorms in British Columbia; aided during flood relief operations in Quebec and Manitoba, ice storms in eastern Canada, the Swissair Flight 111 crash recovery operation, forest fires in Alberta and British Columbia and a host of other situations. Thousands were standing by in the event of disruptions following the Year 2000 rollover. In addition, reservists often help at or participate in cultural events, parades, festivals, and other public events in communities across Canada.

Many reservists have full-time careers outside the Canadian Forces in a wide range of civilian health care professions, including medicine, nursing, and social work, while others are full-time students or members of other trades or professions.

Today's Reserve Force consists of four sub-components, each with separate and distinct roles. In total, there are over 74,000 personnel with the Reserve Force.

The Primary Reserve is the largest sub-component of the Reserve Force, with more than 34,000 members, and is commonly what people refer to when using the term "Reserves." Its personnel train regularly on a part-time basis with occasional periods of full-time service. The Primary Reserve is divided into the following Reserves: Naval, Army, Air, Communications, Health Services, Legal, and the National Defence Headquarters Primary Reserve List (NDHQ PRL).

Naval reservists are located in 24 Naval Reserve Divisions across Canada and are commanded through Naval Reserve Headquarters in Quebec City. They contribute to coastal surveillance and harbour defence, including mine countermeasures, inspection diving, naval control of shipping, intelligence, and port inspection diving and may augment the Navy's major warships. Naval reservists comprise the primary crew for the Navy's 12 Kingston Class minor war vessels, which are located on the East and West Coasts.

The Army Reserve is part of Land Force Command - the Army. Their role is to augment, sustain, and mobilize in support of Army. The Army Reserve includes more than 120 units, such as infantry, armoured, engineer, artillery, and service support units.

Personnel in the Air Reserve are integrated into the units and formations within Air Command - the Air Force. Units of the Air Force can be comprised of any mix of Regular Force and Air Reserve personnel and equipment. The key role of the Air Reserve is augmentation of the Regular Force. Unique to the Air Reserves, the Industrial Air Reserve Program consists of a partnering arrangement with the civilian aerospace industry, under which volunteer employees enrol in the Air Reserve.

Cadet Instructors Cadre officers, of which there are nearly 7,800, are responsible for the safety, supervision, administration, and training of cadets, aged 12-18 years. The aim of the cadet program is to "develop in youth attribute of leadership, good citizenship and physical fitness, while stimulating an interest in the sea, army and air elements of the Canadian Forces."

The Supplementary Reserve consists of former members of the Regular and Reserve Forces and has over 28,000 members. They do not perform training or duty but provide a pool of personnel that could be called out in an emergency.

Canadian Rangers are approximately 4,200 volunteers who provide a military presence in those sparsely settled northern, coastal, and isolated areas of Canada that cannot conveniently or economically be provided by other components of the Canadian Forces. Rangers also support the Junior Canadian Rangers (JCR) program. Sponsored by the Canadian Forces, the JCR program is directed towards youths aged 12-18 years in remote and isolated communities where there are few youth programs.

For more information about the Reserve Force, visit the website of the Chief of Reserves and Cadets at www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/cres_cdt/intro_e.asp

About Department

Occupational Medicine and Environmental Hygiene Department was established in June 1999, the existing teachers in 11 people, including two professors, associate professor 4, three lecturers, teaching assistants, 1, a research assistant, Doctor 2, Shuodao 4. 3 with a doctorate, a doctorate in Reading 3, with a master s degree five. Labor Health and Environmental Hygiene subordinate Science, the State Council approved the establishment of the first batch of master s degree awarded, 2000 was approved as a doctorate awarded points. Possess the sanitation and Labor Health and Occupational Health, the level of field quality courses, 2006 Nanjing Medical University was named the 11th Five-Year Plan key disciplines, Three Education advanced collectives. In the Department of academic leaders Zhou Jianwei Professor leadership, teaching, scientific research and personnel training and so on and have achieved outstanding results.

Department of commitment to undergraduate or master s degrees And Doctoral student of compulsory and elective courses related to teaching. Create five-year, seven-year courses are: occupational health and occupational medicine, environmental health science, health sciences, environmental medicine; postgraduate courses: molecular toxicology, molecular and cell biology, including the progress. Department of actively promoting bilingual education and English language teaching, the success of occupational health and occupational medicine and Environmental Health Comprehensive reform experiment course. Undertake various tasks annual average of about 2000 teaching school. Editor of preventive medicine comprehensive experiment , preventive medicine and preventive medicine study guide , the Ministry of Health Planning

In recent years, the Department of gradually adjust the layout of the laboratory to increase and optimize the software and hardware equipment, to strengthen its academic echelon building, and further strengthen and improve the building and laboratory management disciplines, adjusting the research direction, and focused, play to our strengths, gradually established three research directions: environmental pollution and health, the environment tumor genomics and environmental chemical detection and evaluation; form a distinctive feature of the three laboratories: molecular toxicology, molecular genetic toxicology and occupational hazards evaluation room, these experiments Rooms are set open, integration, competition, innovation in the integration of scientific research and teaching platform. Over the past five years, to the Department of State

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