On November 30, 2023, Bill 48 – 2023: Labour Statutes Amendment Act, 2023 (Bill 48), received Royal Assent from the Government of British Columbia (BC). Bill 48 is a statute pertaining to minimum employment standards for...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
In Shalagin v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2023 BCCA 373, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) upheld the lower court’s dismissal of an employee’s wrongful dismissal claim and its finding that his surreptitious...more
In Van Hee v Glenmore Inn Holdings Ltd., 2023 ABCJ 244 (Glenmore), the Alberta Court of Justice found that an employer’s mandatory vaccination policy was a reasonable, justified and lawful response to the extraordinary...more
12/18/2023
/ Canada ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
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
The Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) decision in R. v. Greater Sudbury (City), 2023 SCC 28 was equally divided (4-4). In the absence of a majority SCC decision, the City's appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the Court...more
On November 25, 2023, O. Reg. 340/23: TERMINATION AND SEVERANCE OF EMPLOYMENT made under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) (Regulation), amending O. Reg. 288/01 (Termination and Severance of Employment), was published...more
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 Giacomodonato v. PearTree Securities Inc., 2023 ONSC 5628, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice ordered the employer to pay to the employee the costs of the proceeding in the amount of $830,761 to dissuade employers from...more
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
In Breen v Foremost Industries Ltd, 2023 ABKB 552, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta dismissed the claim of a President and CEO that he had been wrongfully dismissed from his employment, finding that his employment had...more
10/24/2023
/ Breach of Duty ,
Canada ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Personal Liability ,
Punitive Damages ,
Wrongful Termination
In Dove v Destiny Media Technologies Inc., 2023 BCSC 1032 , the Supreme Court of British Columbia found that an employer had just cause for the dismissal of a full-time employee who worked on a side business during working...more
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) decision demonstrates the process an employer may be expected to undertake to recover employee-stolen funds when the proceeds of the fraud are traced to the assets of a “stranger to the...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
In Insurance Corporation of British Columbia v. Ari, 2023 BCCA 331, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) confirmed that an employer may be found vicariously liable when its employee violates of s. 1 of the province’s...more
8/24/2023
/ Canada ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Breach ,
Data Management ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Personal Information ,
Statutory Violations ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Willful Violations
In Khangura v Lumberwest Building Supplies Inc., 2023 BCSC 1053, the Supreme Court of British Columbia dismissed an employee’s claim that he was entitled to damages because he had been wrongfully dismissed without cause. The...more
Earlier this year, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) revised its guideline, Privacy in the Workplace, which addresses employee rights and workplace obligations with respect to employee personal...more
8/17/2023
/ Canada ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
International Labor Laws ,
Personal Information ,
PIPEDA
Canada’s Regulation SOR/2023-78 (Regulation), which comes into force on December 15, 2023, will require employers to provide free menstrual products for employees’ use in each toilet room in federally regulated workplaces....more
In Monterosso v. Metro Freightliner Hamilton Inc., 2023 ONCA 413, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) found that independent contractors have a duty to mitigate their damages upon the early termination of a fixed-term agreement...more