Parliament Adjourns

On December 13, 2013, the House of Commons adjourned for the winter break. It is scheduled to resume sitting on January 27, 2014.

Federal Government Proposes Mandatory e-filing ITA Regulation Amendment

Further to a Budget 2009 initiative, on December 7, 2013, the federal government published proposed amendments to subsection 205.1(1) of the Income Tax Regulations. Regulations Amending the Income Tax Regulations (Mandatory Electronic Filing – Prescribed Information Returns) would expand mandatory electronic filing (“e-filing”) for prescribed information returns for the purpose of subsection 162(7.02) of the…

WSIB to Enforce Mandatory Construction Coverage Starting January 1, 2014

Effective January 1, 2014, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) will begin enforcing mandatory coverage for certain categories of persons operating in the construction industry and prosecuting those persons who are not in compliance. This FTR Now provides the background to the recent amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (“Act”) relating to…

Ontario Proposes Significant Changes to Workplace Laws

On December 4, 2013, the Ontario government introduced Bill 146, the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, 2013 (“Bill 146”). If passed, Bill 146 would make significant changes to a number of employment-related statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”), the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance…

Significant ESA, WSIA, OHSA, LRA Amendments Proposed (Bill 146, Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act)

On December 4, 2013, the Ontario government introduced Bill 146, the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, omnibus legislation that would, if passed, amend several key employment-related statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (“WSIA”), the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), the Labour Relations Act,…

Federal Government Releases Final Anti-Spam (CASL) Regulations

On December 4, 2013, the federal government published final Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (“final ECP Regulations”) under Canada’s Anti-spam Legislation (“CASL”). As previously reported, CASL enacts comprehensive anti-spam legislation relating to the sending of commercial electronic messages (“CEMs”). Earlier proposed regulations under CASL had been released for consultation in July, 2011, and again on January 5, 2013 with…

BCCA Decision Affirms Clear Language Needed to Reserve Right to Change Retiree Benefits

A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Lacey v. Weyerhaeuser, considered an employer’s right to unilaterally change post-retirement benefits. Although the retiree benefits at issue in this case had been voluntarily instituted, it was found that the employer had represented that the retiree benefits would be maintained on and after retirement, and…