In 2022, Canada saw significant statutory and case law developments in labour and employment law, some of which related to COVID-19. This Insight provides an overview of key 2022 developments, with links to more detailed...more
1/5/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements
In Tar Heel Investments Inc. v. H.L. Staebler Co. Ltd., 2022 ONCA 842, a business alleged that its former employee sold two books of business to a subsequent employer. The Superior Court of Justice (SCJ) found that the...more
As discussed, on December 8, 2022, Ontario proclaimed in force amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act made in Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022. The amendments, which require certain employers to have...more
In Yates v. Langley Motor Sport Centre Ltd., 2022 BCCA 398, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (BCCA) decided that Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments should not be deducted from damage awards for wrongful...more
On December 8, 2022, Ontario proclaimed in force amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) made in Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022. The amendments, which require certain employers to have naloxone...more
In Ontario English Catholic Teachers Assoc. v. His Majesty, 2022, ONSC 6658, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice declared Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act (Act), to be void and of no...more
12/13/2022
/ Canada ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Freedom of Association ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Regulations ,
Ontario ,
Wage and Hour
On November 25, 2022, Canada announced that, commencing on December 18, 2022, Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits will be extended permanently from 15 weeks to 26 weeks. Accordingly, qualified individuals who...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) released two decisions on November 16 that considered whether the Divisional Court applied the correct standard of review required by Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v....more
In McCharles v Jaco Line Contractors Ltd., 2022 AHRC 115, an employee alleged that her employer discriminated against her on the basis of gender contrary to the Alberta Human Rights Act (AHRA) when it terminated her...more
11/29/2022
/ Canada ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights Act ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
Last December, Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code (Bill C-3), received Royal Assent. Once in force, Bill C-3 will repeal the Canada Labour Code’s (CLC) current entitlement for employees in...more
The World Cup is fast approaching! Over the course of the tournament, we will be publishing our own matchups, comparing various aspects of labor and employment law in some of the participating countries. In Part I of this...more
In Lake v. La Presse, 2022 ONCA 742, the only issue on appeal was whether the lower court erred in reducing the employee’s wrongful dismissal damages for failure to mitigate. The Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) set aside the...more
In Empower Simcoe v. JL, 2022 ONSC 5371, the operator of a publicly funded residential facility for children and adults with intellectual disabilities (Operator) sought judicial review of the Human Rights Tribunal of...more
11/11/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Discrimination ,
Duty to Accommodate ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Healthcare ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ,
Patient Rights ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Residential Care Facilities
UPDATE: On November 3, 2022, Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022, received Royal Assent.
On October 31, 2022, in an unprecedented bid to prevent school board employees represented by the Canadian Union of Public...more
11/4/2022
/ Canada ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Ontario ,
Pending Legislation ,
School Boards ,
Strike ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Unions
On June 23, 2022, Canada’s Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 received Royal Assent and amended Canada’s Competition Act. The Competition Act applies to all businesses operating in Canada, whether they are...more
11/2/2022
/ Canada ,
Competition ,
Competition Act ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
International Labor Laws ,
No-Poaching ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
As of October 14, 2022, Ontario made the following changes to its COVID-19 requirements for long term care (LTC) homes, as set out in its COVID-19 guidance document....more
11/1/2022
/ Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medical Residents ,
New Guidance ,
Nursing Homes ,
Ontario ,
Workplace Safety
The purpose of Canada’s proposed Bill S-211, Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff (Bill S-211) is, in part, to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child...more
Employee filed action against company vice president for sexual harassment and sexual assault, and against company for vicarious liability for the sexual harassment.
Court confirmed that sexual harassment is not an...more
10/27/2022
/ Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Human Rights Code ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Tort ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Workplace Safety
On October 1, 2022, Canada published two proposed Regulations under the Canada Labour Code (CLC) and requested comments by October 31, 2022, via a new embedded commenting feature....more
10/19/2022
/ Canada ,
Comment Period ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reimbursements ,
Wage and Hour
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently held a preliminary hearing to determine whether allegations made under the Human Rights Code (Code) fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator, or whether the...more
10/14/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Human Rights ,
Human Rights Code ,
International Labor Laws ,
Jurisdiction ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Ontario ,
Unions
Although arbitrators in Canada have considered whether an employer in a unionized workplace can place an employee on unpaid leave for failing to comply with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, the British Columbia...more
10/7/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In Rayonier v Unifor, Locals 256 and 89, 2022 CanLII 75226 (ON LA), a union filed an individual grievance on behalf of an employee who died at age 66 while still an active employee. This grievance alleged that the employer...more
On September 26, 2022, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced that effective October 1, 2022, Canada’s COVID-19 entry restrictions will be removed for all travellers regardless of citizenship, and Transport...more
9/30/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
International Travel ,
Public Health ,
Screening Procedures ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Traveling Employee
In a wrongful dismissal action against four corporate defendants that were part of a family business, the plaintiff claimed the defendants were common employers, that he was their employee prior to his dismissal, and was...more
In Regional Municipality of York v Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 905 (Long Term Care Unit), 2022 CanLII 78173, Arbitrator Stephen Raymond decided that a mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) requiring employees in...more
9/22/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety