In Alberta Health Services v Johnston, 2023, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta recognized a new tort of harassment and awarded an individual plaintiff $650,000 in damages. A tort is an actionable wrong that causes someone to suffer a loss or harm – it is not normally a contractual matter but exists under the...
There always seems to be some kind of legislative changes happening somewhere, and this time, the focus is on federally regulated employers. Quebec: An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts The above Act received...
Ontario Regulation 99/23 Licensing – Temporary Help Agencies and Recruiters under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) came into force July 1, 2023. Generally speaking, the Regulation establishes a system for the licensing of temporary help agencies and recruiters in Ontario. To implement the system, the legislation will be rolled out in two parts:...
At this point, most of us have heard of ChatGPT – the artificial intelligence program that is increasing in popularity and quickly making its way into workplaces, whether welcomed or not. Many employers are wondering what this technology means for their company. After all, ChatGPT’s recent success has highlighted the broad use of artificial intelligence,...
In May, British Columbia passed a new Pay Transparency Act which applies to all provincially regulated employees in B.C. and aims to enhance transparency around compensation – benefitting both employees and employers. B.C. is one of four provinces without either pay transparency or pay equity legislation. Last year, women in B.C. earned 17% less than...
You may recall that approximately a year ago, the Quebec government passed the controversial Bill 96. This Bill, which came into effect on June 1, 2022, was aimed to provide enhanced protections for the French language in Quebec. Bill 96 – An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec (the “Act”) modified...
As you may recall from our previous e-Alerts, there is no consistent test that is applied across Canada when it comes to family status discrimination. As such, some jurisdictions, including British Columbia, have developed their own test. A recent BC Court of Appeal case, British Columbia (Human Rights Tribunal) v. Gibraltar Mines Ltd., 2023, provides...
As you may recall from our previous e-Alerts, there is no consistent test that is applied across Canada when it comes to family status discrimination. As such, some jurisdictions, including British Columbia, have developed their own test. A recent BC Court of Appeal case, British Columbia (Human Rights Tribunal) v. Gibraltar Mines Ltd., 2023, provides...
With significant increases to the cost of living (let’s face it – grocery shopping has reached new levels!!), it is no surprise that the minimum wage in Canada continues to increase. Below is an overview of the provinces and territories that have implemented increases this year. Canada (the federal jurisdiction): As of April 1, 2023,...
In March 2023, the Ontario government introduced Bill 79 which aims to expand on legislative changes that the government rolled out in 2021 and 2022, providing increased rights for employees and placing new duties on employers. If passed, Bill 79 would: Include employees who work solely from home in the count for mass termination provisions...