NO: There are better ways to help and protect older workers

DEBATE: SHOULD MANDATORY RETIREMENT BE ABOLISHED?

In spite of what many people seem to think, there is no law in Canada that requires everyone to retire by age 65. Mandatory retirement is a matter of human resources policies set by employers; it is implied in workplace pension plan arrangements, or it is provided for in collective agreements negotiated between the employer and the union.

It's considered a human rights issue, regulated by human rights legislation at the provincial, territorial, and federal levels. But human rights laws in some provinces-Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland-prohibit age discrimination only for those aged 18 to 64. In other …