COVID-19 paid sick leave program for Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia Government has announced a COVID-19 paid sick leave program that will launch on May 26, 2021. Under this program, employees who need to take time off work because of COVID-19 may qualify for up to four paid […]
Lisa Goodfellow quoted in SHRM article on a policy to give workers the legal right to disconnect from work
SHRM, "Canada Considers Granting Right to Disconnect"
“Employers that do not operate on a traditional 9-to-5 schedule have raised valid questions about how the right to disconnect would apply to them in practice,” said Lisa Goodfellow, an attorney with Miller Thomson in Toronto. “An important consideration among […]
Budget 2021 – Items of interest for employers
The Federal Government’s Budget 2021 proposes a number of items that may be of interest to employers. The key ones include: Expansion of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support from June 2021 […]
Ontario implements travel restrictions and enhanced public health measures
Travel Restrictions Effective April 19, 2021 (12:01 a.m. Central Time in the Central Time Zone and 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time in the Eastern Time Zone of Ontario), travel into Ontario from Manitoba and Quebec is restricted by Ontario Regulation 293/21. […]
BC creates vaccination leave and expands COVID-19 leave
The Employment Standards Regulation, BC Reg 396/95, has been amended to create an unpaid leave for employees who require leave to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or to assist a dependant who is being vaccinated against COVID-19. The length of the […]
Government of Canada launches consultation on labour protections for “gig work” and on a “right to disconnect”
On March 18, 2021, the federal Minister of Labour, Filomena Tassi, invited Canadians to participate in an online consultation to share their views on: “gig work” – where workers enter into short-term contracts to complete specific and often one-off tasks, generally through […]
Updates on COVID-19 supports
In light of the ongoing pandemic, the Federal Government has extended the following COVID-19 supports: Employment Insurance The number of weeks of EI regular benefits available has been extended by up to 24 weeks to a maximum of 50 weeks […]
Paid vaccination leave
Saskatchewan has become the first jurisdiction in Canada to implement a paid leave to allow an employee to take time off work to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Saskatchewan’s The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 have been amended to add a […]
Federal Government implements increase to maximum subsidy rate under Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
In its Fall Economic Statement, the federal government committed to increasing the maximum CEWS wage subsidy rate to 75%. On December 18, 2020, the federal government announced (see news release) that it had concluded the necessary regulatory changes to implement […]
Ontario extends temporary layoff provisions and IDEL to July 3, 2021
The Ontario Government has announced a further extension to the definition of the “COVID-19 period,” extending the maximum periods of COVID-related temporary layoffs from January 2, 2021 to July 3, 2021, before they are deemed to be terminations under the Employment […]
