Thought Leadership - September 26, 2016

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.

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.

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.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has announced that inspectors will be conducting safety inspection blitzes, targetting the industrial and construction sector.

Ontario commercial truck drivers with less than two years of heavy-truck experience must now pass a practical road test administered by Quebec's SAAQ before transferring their licence to operate heavy vehicles in the province. This new requirement follows fatal collisions and an Ontario Auditor General audit that exposed significant gaps in training standards and provider oversight. Carriers operating across the border need to factor these requirements into workforce planning, recruitment timelines, and dis

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...

Ontario truck drivers with less than two years of commercial heavy vehicle experience must now pass a practical road test administered by Quebec's SAAQ before exchanging their license to drive commercial heavy vehicles in the province. This new requirement follows a series of collisions involving heavy trucks in Quebec and a May 2026 audit revealing significant gaps in Ontario's training standards and oversight of providers. Carriers operating across the Ontario-Quebec border must now factor these requireme

In OSSTF v Ontario,[1] the Ontario Labour Relations Board ("OLRB") offered helpful insight into the education sector's two-tiered collective bargaining regime.

Today, November 5, 2026, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance, tabled a new federal budget (“Budget 2026”), setting out the Government of Canada’s spending promises and policy proposals for the next year and beyond.

On September 15, 2026 (“Announcement Day”), the Department of Finance released draft legislative proposals to implement the “Productivity Mega Deduction,” permanent 100% first-year (“immediate”) expensing for a wide range of new or used depreciable property and for Canadian development expenses (“CDE”)...

Last month, amendments to British Columbia's Environmental Management Act ("EMA") and Contaminated Sites Regulation ("CSR") came into force, altering how contaminated sites are identified in BC.

Bill C-12 has fundamentally transformed Canada's anti-money laundering framework by introducing penalties up to forty times higher than previous levels and expanding compliance obligations across the financial sector. The legislation now requires all reporting entities to enroll with FINTRAC and maintain "reasonably designed, risk-based and effective" compliance programs, while imposing cumulative maximum penalties that can reach 3% of global revenue.

Canada's federal government has proposed the Productivity Mega Deduction, offering permanent 100% first-year expensing for depreciable property and Canadian development expenses in the mining sector. How will this transformative tax measure reshape investment strategies and project economics for mining companies operating in Canada?

Foreign companies entering Canada often assume their existing privacy programs designed for GDPR or CCPA compliance can simply extend to Canadian operations, but Canada's legal requirements demand targeted modifications. This comprehensive guide examines Canada's private sector privacy legislation, breach reporting obligations, AI governance expectations, and anti-spam regulations that businesses must navigate before launching in the Canadian market.