Labour & Employment

  • March 17, 2026

    Immigration petitions: Premium processing vs. ‘regular’ adjudication

    These days, to get a timely adjudication on any U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) petition, filers need to be looking at the possibility of paying the extra US$2,965 to the U.S. government for expedited adjudication, under the agency’s “Premium Processing” option. This is because “regular” adjudication typically takes months — and in some cases, years — for most case types. This means your entire immigrant or nonimmigrant process, and accordant status, can be held up by lengthy adjudication times, limiting work options and/or the ability to travel in the meantime.

  • March 16, 2026

    FCA orders RCMP review body to decide delayed appeals within 6 months

    The Federal Court of Appeal has ordered the RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) to issue findings in long-delayed disciplinary appeals within six months, ruling that the Federal Court erred in denying mandamus relief after concluding the delay was not unreasonable.

  • March 16, 2026

    Court of Appeal for Ontario confirms stay where enforcement sought against non-party to arbitration

    In Sociedad Concesionaria Metropolitana de Salud S.A. v. Webuild S.p.A., 2026 ONCA 28, the Court of Appeal confirmed that enforcement proceedings in Ontario should be stayed based on forum non conveniens.

  • March 16, 2026

    Employers ignore mental health issues at their peril

    Employers who think they are being clever by rushing to dismiss an employee, or quickly accepting a resignation before the employee explicitly raises mental health accommodation, often create liability for themselves.

  • March 13, 2026

    Feds reboot new police powers, obligations to give police & CSIS ‘lawful access’ to digital data

    Following public outcry and stiff political opposition to its sweeping “strong borders” omnibus bill (Bill C-2), the minority Liberal government has migrated the expanded “lawful access” powers and new obligations for electronic service providers to assist police and CSIS investigators from C-2 into standalone legislation (Bill C-22).

  • March 13, 2026

    Feds announce new immigration measure in Quebec under International Mobility Program

    The federal government has announced a new “temporary measure” to assist the Government of Quebec retain skilled workers on “their pathway to permanent residence.”

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • March 10, 2026

    Keegstra in Bill C-9: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code: Hate propaganda, hate crime access

    More than three decades after the Supreme Court of Canada decided R. v. Keegstra, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697, the case continues to shape how Canadians think about hate speech, free expression and the limits of the Charter. Yet, while legal analysis has focused intensely on constitutional doctrine, far less attention has been paid to the place that gave rise to the case: Eckville, a small rural community in central Alberta. Revisiting Keegstra today, particularly in light of renewed legislative debates surrounding Bill C-9, requires not only revisiting the court’s reasoning, but also reconsidering how Eckville and central Alberta itself has been constructed in media, academic and greater legal narratives.

  • March 09, 2026

    Ontario appoints first military defence representative

    The Ontario government has appointed its first military defence representative to promote the province’s defence industry in global markets and attract new defence investment while helping companies find opportunities to grow their export.

  • March 09, 2026

    Federal government commits $94.5M over five years to labour market data initiative

    The federal government is set to invest up to $94.5 million over five years to produce consistent, foundational labour market information across key sectors, according to a release issued on March 9.

  • March 09, 2026

    RCMP privacy breach class action stayed for pension review

    The Federal Court has stayed a proposed class action in which members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) alleged their right to privacy was violated by the RCMP and other agents of Canada during an organized crime investigation.

  • March 09, 2026

    Courtroom to community: Reconciliation means amplifying access to justice, Indigenous voices

    “Canada’s adoption of the UNDRIP into Canadian law via the UNDA must mean more than a status quo application of the section 35 framework,” wrote Justice Julie Blackhawk in the seminal Kebaowek First Nation v. CNL federal court case (Kebaowek First Nation v. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, [2025] F.C.J. No. 300). For the Indigenous grassroot leaders and youth seeking to intervene in the constitutional challenge to the provincial government’s Bill 5 that was passed in June 2025, this revisioning of the status quo remains a live issue.

  • March 09, 2026

    Dead men talking, 2026 style

    The Mafia instructed their wannabe associates that dead men don’t talk, so once they make their bones and whack a rat — never leave a witness.

  • March 06, 2026

    Exclusion of refugee claimants from subsidized childcare violates women’s Charter s. 15 rights: SCC

    In a Charter s. 15(1) equality rights milestone, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Quebec’s exclusion of refugee claimants from eligibility for subsidized childcare in the province unconstitutionally discriminates against women based on their sex.

  • March 06, 2026

    Canada, Japan announce new partnerships in trade, critical minerals, technology

    Canada and Japan are introducing a new strategic partnership across the areas of critical minerals, defence, energy, trade and technology.

  • March 06, 2026

    Aaron Johnson joins Roper Greyell as associate

    Roper Greyell has welcomed Aaron Johnson as an associate in Vancouver.

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