L&E Global Employment Law Tracker – July 2024

Canada's gig economy continues to grow steadily, with nearly half a million Canadians now engaged in this type of work. Many businesses rely on this form of highly flexible labour...

Keeping up with employment law in Canada used to be a marathon. Now, it's a sprint. For employers in Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia, a significant volume of new legislation...

Since the end of the First World War, Canadians have recognized November 11 as Remembrance Day, a day to honour members of our armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

WorkSafeBC is proposing significant amendments to British Columbia's Occupational Health and Safety Regulation that would fundamentally reshape how employers address workplace harassment, violence, and psychological health. The proposed changes introduce expanded definitions, new prevention program requirements, and obligations to identify and control psychosocial hazards. These amendments could require most B.C. employers to substantially revise their existing workplace policies and procedures.

On March 1, 2018, An Act to amend the Holidays Act (Remembrance Day) received royal assent and became law.

Starting November 1, 2026, BC's pay transparency reporting obligation expands to cover employers with 50 or more employees, significantly broadening the scope of the Pay Transparency Act and Pay Transparency Regulation (the "Act").

The Canadian province of British Columbia has introduced measures that prohibit employers from asking job applicants for pay history information.

The federal government has tabled Bill C-39, introducing sweeping reforms to the Canada Labour Code that will fundamentally reshape union negotiations, dispute resolution, and workplace enforcement for federally regulated employers. These changes, stemming from extensive public consultations with over 26,000 responses, grant new ministerial powers while expanding government enforcement capacity by 70% through the hiring of 100 additional health and safety officers.

On April 20, 2026, the Ontario government introduced Bill 105, known as the Protecting Ontario's Workers and Economic Resilience Act, 2026 (the "POWER Act"), for first reading.

Canada's federal government has announced a $3.5 billion rapid response support package in anticipation of retaliatory tariffs against the United States, introducing new temporary employment insurance measures and workforce retention programs. The package extends EI benefits, waives waiting periods, and creates funding opportunities for employers to retain and retrain workers rather than implement large-scale layoffs.

Municipal elections across Ontario are scheduled to take place on October 24, 2022. Employers are obligated to provide their employees with sufficient time off work to vote.

On May 16, 2025, the Ontario Court of Appeal in Bertsch v Datastealth Inc., 2025 ONCA 379 (CanLII) upheld a termination clause limiting employees' termination entitlements to the minimum amounts...

As we previously wrote about here, on May 13, 2024, the Ontario government introduced Bill 194, the Strengthening Cyber Security and Building Trust in the Public Sector Act...

On March 9, 2023, British Columbia's Bill 2, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act, received Royal Assent. As a result, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation...

The recent decision of Timmins v. Artisan Cells ("Timmins") is in line with existing case law, and represents a sobering reminder of the significant potential liability for employers...

Bill C-4, An Act relating to certain measures in response to COVID-19, received royal assent on October 2, 2020. With the passing of this legislation, three new temporary social benefits

On April 14, 2022, the Government of Ontario introduced a new Firefighter Certification regulation (O. Reg. 343/22), which will come into force on July 1, 2022.

In Ontario, managerial/supervisory employees, among others, are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 ("ESA").

Today, amendments to the Canada Labour Code ("Code") come into force to provide federally regulated private sector employees with up to 10 days of paid medical leave per calendar year.

The temporary policy allowing international students to work more than 20 hours per week off campus has expired effective April 30, 2024.