Labour & Employment
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March 13, 2026
Cross-border clarity: How U.S. franchise reform could affect Canadian brands
The American Franchise Act (AFA), a bipartisan bill currently moving through U.S. Congress, could help bring clarity to franchising as a business model, with implications for Canadian operators.
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March 12, 2026
Sound of silence sinks deal: Settlement agreements need sharper drafting
The Ontario Superior Court’s decision in Cross v. Cooling Tower Maintenance Inc., 2025 ONSC 7203 is a useful reminder that settlement agreements must be drafted with care, especially where salary continuance, mitigation obligations and repayment provisions are involved. If counsel intend a breach to trigger serious consequences, those consequences must be set out clearly. Courts will enforce the agreement the parties made, not the one that one side later wishes it had drafted.
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March 11, 2026
CFIB warns 1.3M expiring work permits will increase labour challenges
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is warning that more than 1.3 million work permits, including those for temporary foreign workers (TFWs), are set to expire by the end of 2026, which it says will significantly threaten economic and labour challenges.
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March 11, 2026
Ottawa extends temporary work-sharing EI measures to help employers avert mass layoffs from tariffs
The federal government is extending temporary special measures under the employment insurance work-sharing program until March 31, 2027, from March 6, 2026, to help employers facing unexpected slowdowns avoid layoffs and maintain stability for their workers.
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March 11, 2026
Silence isn’t golden: Employers must clearly communicate contractual changes
In Comeau v. Valcom Consulting Ltd., 2025 NBKB 253, the Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick held that an employer’s attempt to unilaterally introduce new, more restrictive terms of employment in relation to a long-term employee who had worked under a series of fixed-term employment agreements constituted a constructive dismissal.
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March 11, 2026
The billable hour is running out of time
Early in my career, I noticed a pattern I could not ignore. I would build rapport with clients, earn their trust and then watch everything fall apart the moment the invoice was sent. They were not upset with me personally, even though sometimes it felt that way. They were blindsided by a system that charged them in a way they found unfair. Even worse, I would get penalized if I found strategies to be fast and efficient to make it more fair.
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March 10, 2026
Ottawa, B.C. move ahead with anti-hate legislation to combat rising antisemitism, targeted violence
As the federal and B.C. governments push ahead with new anti-hate measures, legal experts in the Jewish community advise that robust political leadership, specialized training for prosecutors and police, and new legal tools — bolstered by greater enforcement of the existing criminal law — are keys to fighting the explosion of antisemitism and hate in Canada since the terrorist massacre of hundreds of people in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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March 10, 2026
Ontario, Canada invest $228M for workers in the province
The Ontario government is expanding training and employment supports for those impacted by tariffs and global trade disruptions with a $228.8-million investment from the federal government over the next three years.
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March 10, 2026
Manitoba to require employers to provide menstrual products
Manitoba will soon be the first province in Canada requiring employers to provide free menstrual products to their employees.
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March 10, 2026
Canadian cabotage and immigration rules for foreign trucking operations
Foreign motor carriers delivering freight into Canada operate within a tightly regulated framework that governs both the use of their equipment and the activities of their drivers while in Canada. Canadian cabotage and immigration rules are designed to protect the domestic transportation market while allowing international trade to function efficiently.