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ARTICLE · 15 JUNE 2017

Government Announces Sweeping Changes To Labour And Employment Laws In Alberta

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In March this year, the Alberta government announced its intention to "modernize" the province's employment and labour laws.

CanadaEmployment and HR
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Bennett Jones LLP
Matthew Macdonald
Matthew Macdonald
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In March this year, the Alberta government announced its intention to "modernize" the province's employment and labour laws. On March 28, 2017, we advised that two of the key changes being considered to Alberta's labour laws (which govern employer-union relations in the province) were the introduction of automatic card certification (allowing for certification of bargaining units in a workplace without a certification vote among affected employees) and binding first contract arbitration once an employer becomes certified.

Ten weeks after announcing its "modernization" plan and requesting input from the public, the NDP government introduced Bill 17, The Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act, on May 24, 2017. The Bill proposes sweeping changes to Alberta's Labour Relations Code and the Employment Standards Code. The significance of these changes for provincially regulated employers and businesses in Alberta will be analyzed in a future blog. Highlights of

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