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On July 30, 2021, the federal government proposed a variety of extensions to existing COVID-19 support programs for businesses and workers. The proposed changes are summarized below. For employers  The government has proposed extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support until October 23, 2021. In addition, the rate […]

A number of arbitration awards dealing with COVID-19 vaccination policies were released in late 2021 and early 2022.  While most of these policies were upheld, it remained to be seen how COVID-19 vaccination policies would be viewed once governments started lifting COVID-19 public health measures, and how arbitrators would assess discharges.  Two awards released last […]

In our most recent posts, we highlighted some of the  regulatory relief available to administrators of Ontario registered pension plans and plans registered in jurisdictions other than Ontario as a result of COVID-19. In this post, we highlight additional relief measures that have been announced for administrators and sponsors of registered pension plans, including the […]

As a result of the emergence of the Delta variant, the Government of Ontario is taking steps to increase protection for the most vulnerable populations, including frail seniors, immunocompromised individuals and young children who are not yet eligible for vaccination. The Government of Ontario’s actions include: Making COVID-19 vaccination policies mandatory in high-risk settings; Pausing […]

The arrival of the full effects of COVID-19 to North America has provided a sobering reminder of why certain provisions are included in construction contracts. These provisions may not be ones that parties would focus on in ordinary times (as discussed in our last article); however, these are not ordinary times. This article discusses the […]

In a recent Saskatchewan arbitration decision, UFCW, Loc. 1400 v P&H Milling Group, it was decided that an employer was not required to pay sick leave to employees who: recently returned from outside of Canada and were required by a federal government mandate to quarantine for 14 days; had been exposed to an individual who […]

The situation created by the spread of COVID-19 will have a significant impact on the cashflow of several businesses as a result of a reduction in sales and, consequently, of accounts receivable and cash balances. While government support measures certainly help, businesses may be seeking other sources of short-term funding. In Québec, businesses that receive […]

With employers keeping busy drafting and enforcing vaccination policies in the last few weeks, many questions have been raised about medical exemptions from the requirement to get the COVID-19 vaccine. While employers are aware that human rights legislation requires them to accommodate employees’ medical conditions which may exempt employees from vaccination, the medical conditions requiring […]

The author would like to acknowledge the contributions of Madison Derraugh, Student-at-law, in the writing of this update. In this summary, we provide an update to the end of October 2020 on COVID-19 relief measures in respect of registered pension plans announced by pension regulators and enacted by governments across Canada. The announcements and associated […]

Saskatchewan employers now have statutory protection regarding the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions and regulations at the workplace in accordance with public health recommendations. The Saskatchewan Employment Amendment Act, 2021 confirms that employers who enacted mandatory vaccination policies were within their legal rights to do so. Specifically, this legislation added section 9-10.01 to The Saskatchewan Employment […]