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Retirement age is discriminatory: OHRC chief

Ajit Jain
India Abroad Correspondent in Toronto

Keith Norton, chief of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, has sparked an interesting controversy that should interest countries like India also. He says forcing people to retire at 65 is wrong and has suggested that the Ontario human rights code be changed to reflect that.

Norton has suggested to the Ontario provincial government that forced retirement at age 65 is "discriminatory", just as discriminatory as it would be to require people at 35 to retire.

So, "if they want to continue to work, why shouldn't they have a choice as opposed to being arbitrarily dismissed at 65?"

After submitting the OHRC's annual report to the provincial government, Norton told the media that the way the Ontario human rights code is worded, any individual older than 65 who is still working can be discriminated against on the basis of age and they simply have no recourse.

"Mandatory retirement is not enshrined in [the Ontario] law, but it's permitted by the law. Usually, it's enshrined in collective agreements or an employer can have a policy ... that people must retire at the age of 65," Norton was quoted as saying.

Both employer and seniors groups agree it's time to make a change in the retirement age. "We think people should have the right to retire whenever they wish if they are willing and capable to continue working," said Bill Gleberzon, associate executive director of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, which has 230,000 members.

He said the Canadian government now allows people to work until they turn 70 and four other provinces have eliminated a legal retirement age altogether.

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