Labour & Employment
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May 08, 2024
Federal workers’ unions file legal challenges, complaints against three-day on-site work mandate
Unions representing 270,000 federal public service workers have filed a series of legal challenges in opposition to the government’s new mandate requiring its workers to report to the office three days per week, according to a release by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
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May 07, 2024
Sweeping national security bill would boost state investigative powers; expand & create crimes, AMPs
The federal government has introduced a sweeping national security bill that would create a publicly accessible “foreign influence transparency” registry; expand the warrant, production and disclosure powers of the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency (CSIS); affect criminal accused or judicial review applicants seeking access to relevant “information related to international relations, national defence or national security”; expand the current “sabotage” offence; and create new “foreign interference” offences, along with administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) of up to $5 million and five years in prison, including for knowingly obstructing the operations of the office of a proposed new “Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner.”
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May 07, 2024
Ontario privacy commissioner sides with province on disclosure of health-care staffing info
Ontario’s privacy watchdog has sided with the province in its attempts to keep information about staffing shortages in the health-care sector private.
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May 07, 2024
Lessons from Leafs’ latest exit from the playoffs and executive employment law | Frank Portman
Unfortunately, the time has now come for what has become a depressingly annual rite of spring in Toronto: the earlier-than-expected exit of the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Stanley Cup playoffs. In this hockey-mad market, there will be plenty of experts, many of the armchair variety, who will dissect the reasons for the latest disappointment.
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May 07, 2024
Transmission of U.S. citizenship: Blessing or curse?
Children of U.S. citizens often can go their whole lives without knowing that they actually are — already — U.S. citizens themselves. To individuals in this situation, finding out you are already a U.S. citizen can be like winning the lottery or your worst nightmare. U.S. citizenship comes with certain rights and privileges but also with certain obligations. Those who want to divest themselves from these obligations can do so but may be frustrated with how lengthy the process of renouncing or relinquishing U.S. citizenship can be.
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May 06, 2024
Ottawa’s proposed $72M for immigration legal aid in 2024 helps but more funds needed, CBA says
Immigration lawyers say federal Budget 2024’s boost for immigration legal aid is very welcome, but higher funding is necessary if the burgeoning number of refugee claimants are to access justice in Canada. As unveiled on April 16, 2024, by Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Budget 2024 proposes $72 million for immigration legal aid in 2024-25, up from $43.5 million per year in Budgets 2023 and 2022.
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May 06, 2024
Cap on international students impacting post-secondary institutions
This year, Canada implemented strict limits on the number of study permits that could be issued to foreign students. Canada expects to approve 292,000 new study permits in 2024, down 28 per cent from the previous year.
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May 03, 2024
Pensions in wrongful dismissal cases
Employment lawyers on both sides of a wrongful dismissal case are often stumped on how to deal with pensions in the course of litigation and for settlement purposes.
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May 03, 2024
Ontario plans to double maximum fine for employment standards violations
Ontario is pledging to “get tougher” on employers who take advantage of their workers by increasing the maximum fine for employment standards violations to what it says will be the highest level in the country.
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May 03, 2024
Court of Appeal upholds standard: Establishing link between employment, workplace injuries
The plaintiff ceased working in 2002 due to the deterioration of his vision in the course of his employment as a butcher; he was exposed to chemicals and suffered blows to the head from hanging hooks. The subsequent year he applied for disability benefits under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). An optometrist medical examiner, Dr. Jeannot Cormier, reported, validating reports from Montreal and Ottawa, a cone-rod retinal dystrophy and a progressive bilateral retinal degeneration that led to a loss of central vision.