On May 30, 2023, Manitoba’s Bill 235, The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act, received Royal Assent and came into force. Bill 235 amended The Employment Standards Code by expanding the length of unpaid leave on the death of a family member from three days to five days, and by permitting an employee to now take up to five days of unpaid leave if the employee or their spouse or common-law partner experiences a pregnancy loss.
More recently, on June 22, 2023, Canada’s Bill C-47, Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1 (Bill C-47), received Royal Assent and came into force. Bill C-47 amended the child death and disappearance leave in the Canada Labour Code by increasing the maximum leave if an employee’s child dies or disappears to 156 weeks from 104 weeks, and by removing the exception to the leave where it is probable that the employee’s child age 14 or older was a party to the crime.