Mandatory retirement has been abolished at Canada's largest university and is on the way out in the country's largest province.

From July 1, academics and librarians at the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Toronto can work past the age of 65 under a deal reached between the university and its faculty association.

As early as autumn next year, all of Ontario's 12,000 faculty - spread over 18 universities and 24 public colleges - will have the right to choose when to leave under legislation introduced last month by the provincial government.

"What is really nice about the current arrangement at Toronto is that it is a package arrangement," said George Luste, president of the university faculty association.

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"It makes it easy for people to retire early if they want, it allows people to work beyond 65, and it encourages people who have retired to stay part of the university community," he said.

Six Canadian provinces already protect workers against being forced to quit the workforce at 65: Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

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Academics fought long and hard to end the practice in Ontario, home to one third of Canada's population and many of its top-calibre universities.

The struggle lost significant momentum when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled by five to two in 1990 that mandatory retirement as practised by universities did not violate civil rights.

At Toronto, academics who turned 65 before July 1 will still fall under the old rules, but anyone younger can work until they please, provided they continue to meet normal performance standards.

"This is a balanced and flexible arrangement that has been arrived at over a long period of time," interim university president Frank Iacobucci says in a statement. "This has truly been a historical undertaking."

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The full details of Ontario's bid to abolish mandatory retirement have yet to be worked out. In cases where it can be justified as a bona fide job requirement, such as for firefighters and airline pilots - though not professor - the law will still allow mandatory retirement.

"People are healthier and living longer, so it is unfair to insist that they stop working simply because they turn 65," Chris Bentley, Ontario Labour Minister, said. "Ending mandatory retirement would allow workers to choose when to retire based on lifestyle, circumstance and priorities."