The 2025 Ontario provincial election will take place on February 27, 2025. Voters will elect their Member of Provincial Parliament to represent them at Queen’s Park.
In most of the province, polls are open on election day...more
On December 4, 2024, the following bills amending Newfoundland and Labrador’s Labour Standards Act (LSA) received Royal Assent and became effective...more
On November 27, 2024, Ontario introduced Bill 229 - Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 (Bill 229) for First Reading. If enacted, the statutes amended would include the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Occupational...more
Ontario’s Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 and Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 both amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) by, among other things, setting out requirements and prohibitions...more
On April 11, 2022, Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022 (Bill 88), received Royal Assent and became law. Among other things, Bill 88 enacted the new Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 (DPWRA).1 The DWPRA did not...more
9/11/2024
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Platforms ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Gig Economy ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Wage and Hour
A new General Labor Law (NGLL) was enacted by Law No. 12/23, of 27 December 2023, which came into force on March 26, 2024.The NGLL repealed the former General Labor Law (approved by Law No. 7/15, of June 15, 2015),...more
In Teamsters Local Union 987 of Alberta v Purolator Inc., 2024 CanLII 21937 (CA LA), an arbitrator dealt with a clash between the amount of leave days under a unionized employer’s collective agreements (CA) and the leave...more
4/16/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labour Code ,
Leave of Absence ,
Teamsters ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On November 29, 2023, Prince Edward Island’s Bill 106, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, received Royal Assent. Bill 106 will come into force on October 1, 2024....more
Last month Canada’s federal government announced the launch of a new employment equity data visualization tool called Equi’Vision. Equi’Vision displays data on workforce representation rates and the pay gaps experienced by...more
On February 12, 2024, in Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2024 ONCA 101, the majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) upheld, in part, the decision of the Ontario Superior...more
Under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (known as the Closing Loopholes Act), as of January 1, 2025, intentional underpayment of employees’ wages and certain benefits will be a criminal offense, with a maximum of 10 years’...more
In 2023, Canada saw significant statutory and case law developments in labour and employment law. This Insight provides an overview of notable 2023 developments, with links to more detailed articles and commentary....more
On November 30, 2023, Canada’s federal government introduced Bill C-59, Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 (Bill C-59), which would implement proposals in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement (Statement). Bill C-59...more
What is It? The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established in 2008 to document the history and legacy of residential schools, which were operated between the late 1800s and the late 1990s by the...more
12/14/2023
/ Canada ,
Churches ,
First Nations ,
Holidays ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Minor Children ,
Reconciliation ,
Religious Institutions ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Ordinances ,
Wage and Hour
In Ottawa Police Services Bd. v. Ottawa Police Assn., 2023 ONSC 6225, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) (Ont. SCJ (Div. Ct.)) quashed an arbitrator’s decision allowing two grievances that claimed...more
12/14/2023
/ Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Holiday Pay ,
Holidays ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Relations ,
Ontario ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On November 7, 2023, Prince Edward Island (PEI) introduced Bill 106, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act (Bill 106) for First Reading. Bill 106 proposes to increase dramatically the paid sick leave to which employees...more
11/17/2023
/ Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On November 14, 2023, Ontario introduced Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023 (Bill 149), for First Reading. If passed, Bill 149 would, among other things, amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Workplace...more
On November 9, 2023, Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code and the Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2012 (Bill C-58), was introduced by the federal government for First Reading. Bill C-58 proposes,...more
11/16/2023
/ Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Lockouts ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Strike ,
Temporary Employees ,
Wage and Hour
On October 26, 2023, Ontario’s Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 (Bill 79) received Royal Assent and came into force. The statutes amended by Bill 79 include the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Occupational...more
By way of Order in Council approved and ordered on October 23, 2023, British Columbia’s Pay Transparency Regulation (Regulation) was made. The Regulation provides information about how pay transparency reports are to be...more
11/8/2023
/ Canada ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Pay Transparency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
In Guidance on wage or salary information on job postings (Guidance), the Government of British Columbia provides additional guidance on s. 2 of the province’s Pay Transparency Act (Act), which requires employers to...more
On August 16, 2023, Canada published Regulation SOR/2023-180 under the Canada Labour Code (CLC) (Amending Regulation). The Amending Regulation exempts certain classes of employees in the banking, telecommunications and...more
8/29/2023
/ Airlines ,
Banks ,
Broadcasting ,
Canada ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
International Labor Laws ,
Railways ,
Telecommunications ,
Wage and Hour
The decision of the British Columbia, Canada Civil Resolution Tribunal (Tribunal) in Besse v. Reach CPA Inc., 2023 BCCRT 27 is especially relevant now that remote work has become common. The Tribunal found the employer had...more
5/31/2023
/ Canada ,
Electronic Monitoring ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Tracking ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour
On May 11, 2023, British Columbia, Canada’s Bill 13, Pay Transparency Act (Act), received Royal Assent. Section 2 of the Act, which addresses the employer’s obligations regarding publicly advertised job opportunities, comes...more
5/24/2023
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour
In Soave v. Stahle Construction Inc., 2023 ONCA 265, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) allowed an employer’s appeal of the trial judge’s finding that an employee who was on a temporary leave at the time of an injury was...more
5/16/2023
/ Canada ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Litigation ,
Health Insurance ,
International Labor Laws ,
Leave of Absence ,
Long Term Disability Insurance ,
Ontario ,
Wage and Hour