Labour and Employment Law Blog

In 2020, as offices and workplaces across Canada closed or reduced staffing capacity due to COVID-19, many Canadian workers who normally performed work at their employer’s worksite were suddenly required to work from home, either fully or partially. While this has not always been an easy transition, the silver lining is that such workers may be eligible for an income tax ...

Now that we have persevered through one year of the COVID-19 pandemic, much has been written about pandemic fatigue and associated social isolation, mental stress, and anxiety. Employers may be seeing an increase in the incidence of mental illness claims in their workplaces. Statistics Canada conducted an online questionnaire in April-May 2020, Canadians' mental ...

This is the second installment of a two-part blog discussing sweeping changes to Alberta's workers' compensation and occupational health and safety legislation. Be sure to check out our previous post, which summarized significant amendments to the Alberta Workers' Compensation Act.

In this installment, we are highlighting five major changes to the occupational ...

This is the first installment of a two-part blog discussing sweeping changes to the Alberta Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) and Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) made as part of the government's initiative to "cut red tape." While the Legislature passed the amendments in December 2020, most of the changes to the WCA come into force on April 1, 2021, while the new OHSA ...

Workplace harassment is once again in the news given our former Governor General’s resignation from her post after a 132 page investigation report was issued following accusations of a toxic work environment at Rideau Hall.

While the Government of Canada took the correct steps in hiring an independent investigator once the allegations surfaced, meeting with all ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. Business-related travel, particularly international travel, has decreased significantly. For some employers, travel for work-related purposes, both domestic and international, is a necessity, not an option. In this blog post, we address some of the risks associated with business-related travel during the pandemic ...

As we all know by now, the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob of President Trump’s supporters on Wednesday January 6, 2021. A great deal of the mob, as well as police officers who appeared to stand aside as rioters streamed inside, were captured on video and replayed repeatedly over the news. This includes two Canadian nurses who allegedly travelled to Washington D.C. to ...

On November 24, 2020, British Columbia issued a Public Health Order requiring the use of masks in all public indoor spaces in the province (the “Order”). In this blog post, we answer some frequently asked questions posed by business owners and employers about the Order.

Mandatory Masking in Public Indoor Spaces

Masks are now mandatory in all “indoor public spaces” ...

Terminating the employment of an employee is never easy. There are many things to consider from both a practical and legal perspective. The more prepared you can be the better. While not exhaustive, set out below are some questions every employer should be asking themselves before they terminate the employment of any non-union employee on a “without cause” basis.

• What ...

The new Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, SOR/2020-130 (the “Regulation”) and corresponding changes to the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) come into force on January 1, 2021. The amendments introduce significant changes to how federally regulated organizations are required to prevent and address workplace harassment and violence ...