Federal Government Issues Fall Economic Statement

On November 21, 2018, the federal government issued its Fall Economic Statement 2018, “Investing in Middle Class Jobs” (Statement). Among other things, the Statement: reiterates the Budget 2018 commitment of an evidence-based approach towards addressing retirement security and announces that targeted consultations will soon be launched as the government continues to explore ways to enhance…

CRTC Publishes Guidance on Indirect Contraventions of Canada’s Anti-Spam Law

On November 5, 2018, the CRTC published its Compliance and Enforcement Information Bulletin CRTC 2018-415 (Bulletin), which is a guideline regarding the prohibition against facilitating spam under Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL). Section 9 of CASL imposes prohibitions and penalties for activities that facilitate the contravention of the anti-spam provisions in sections 6-8. The non-facilitation prohibition…

Federal Government Passes Legislation Aimed at Preventing Harassment and Violence in the Workplace

On October 25, 2018, Bill C-65, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1 (Act) received Royal Assent. As previously reported on November 9, 2017, November 27, 2017, and June 28, 2018, this Act amends the Canada Labour…

Committee Invites Public Submissions on Proposed Federal Accessibility Legislation – Due October 25, 2018

As we previously discussed, in June 2018 the federal government introduced Bill C-81, An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada, accessibility legislation which will apply to certain federally regulated employers. If passed, Bill C-81 will require certain organizations to identify, remove and prevent barriers in the following areas: employment, the built environment, information and communication…

Reminder: Mandatory Data Breach Notification in Force on November 1, 2018

As we previously reported, as of November 1, 2018, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) will require notification to affected individuals and the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) when a security incident involving personal information results in a “real risk of significant harm.” The supporting regulations published March 27, 2018…

Early Effective Date Announced for New Federal Parental Sharing Benefit

The government has announced that the new federal Parental Sharing Benefit will launch on March 17, 2019. As we previously reported, the 2018 federal Budget (Budget) proposed to establish an additional Parental Sharing Benefit with the goal of encouraging parents to share Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. The intended goal of this reform was to allow…

Federal Government Reviewing Consultation Feedback on Modernizing the Canada Labour Code

On August 30, 2018, the federal government published “What We Heard: Modernizing Federal Labour Standards” (Report), in which it reviews the results of a ten-month consultation process with employers, unions, employees, academics and other stakeholders on modernizing the Canada Labour Code (Code) to better reflect the needs of a 21st century workforce.

Federal Government Launches Public Consultation on Proposed Changes to Harassment and Violence Provisions of the Canada Labour Code

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has launched a public consultation on the proposed regulatory framework to be implemented in support of Bill C-65, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1. Bill C-65 was tabled in…