In Robertson v. Ontario, Justice Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently certified a class proceeding against the Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care (MLTC). The case relates to the deaths or serious illness due to COVID-19 of thousands of residents in provincially regulated long-term care (LTC) homes. Although the class proceeding was certified,…
Business Operation: Canada
Supreme Court of Canada Denies Leave to Appeal in Public Sector Wage Restraint Legislation Case
On October 27, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application for leave to appeal Manitoba Federation of Labour et al v The Government of Manitoba. In that case, the Manitoba Court of Appeal (Court) upheld the constitutionality of the province’s public sector wage restraint legislation. The Court based its decision on the case…
Proposed Regulation Requiring Federally Regulated Employers to Provide Menstrual Products Published for Comment
On October 15, 2022, the federal government published a proposed Regulation Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Menstrual Products). The proposed Regulation would amend the sanitation provisions in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (OHS Regulations) made under Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code. The proposed Regulation…
Federal Government Launches Consultations to Improve the Collective Bargaining Process
On October 19, 2022, the federal government announced that it is seeking public feedback regarding its plan to improve the collective bargaining process. The government states that the consultation was launched in response to its commitment to introduce legislation by the end of 2023 to prohibit the use of replacement workers during a strike or…
Federal Government Publishes Proposed Canada Labour Code Regulations Regarding Reimbursement of Work-Related Expenses, and More
On October 1, 2022, the federal government published two proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Regulations) amending the Canada Labour Standards Regulations. The Regulations pertain to the reimbursement of work-related expenses and employee information and the service of documents and regular rate of wages. The proposed Regulations have been published…
Employers Take Note: New Obligations under Temporary Foreign Workers Program Now in Effect
Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which came into effect on September 26, 2022 place new obligations on employers who employ temporary foreign workers (TFWs). Significantly, these obligations include the requirement for an employer to commit to having an employment agreement in place with the…
Proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Medical Leave with Pay) Published for Comment
On July 16, 2022, the federal government published Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Medical Leave with Pay), proposed regulatory amendments to give effect to the new paid medical leave provisions under the Canada Labour Code (Code), which are not yet in force. The leave, enacted by Bill C-3, An Act…
Class Action Brought by Off-Reserve Indigenous Children and Their Families Certified
In Stonechild v. Canada, Justice Phelan of the Federal Court recently certified a class proceeding brought on behalf of off-reserve Indigenous children and their families. Under the Federal Court system, this avoids the necessity or prospect of up to thirteen separate provincial and territorial class actions. The claim seeks to hold the government of Canada…
Federal Government Suspends COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Certain Travel, and Federal Sector Employees
On June 14, 2022, the federal government announced that as of June 20, 2022, it will suspend vaccination requirements for domestic and outbound travel, federally regulated transportation sectors and federal government employees. (For details about the federal government’s vaccine mandate which was originally introduced in October 2021, see our FTR Now of October 7, 2021,…
Federal Government Consultation Underway on Proposed Pay Equity Act Regulations
On May 16, 2022, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) published an invitation to provide feedback with respect to the development of regulations under the federal Pay Equity Act, which came into force on August 31, 2021. This Act establishes a proactive pay equity regime that applies to employers with 10 or more employees in…