WINTER 202 0 TODAY’S GENER AL COUNSEL
Labor & Employment
Changes in Canada’s Labor and Employment Laws By Shane D. Todd
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he government of Canada has made significant recent changes to the labor and employment laws that apply to federally regulated businesses — banks, air transport, telephone, radio and television companies, among others. There is new accessibility legislation, changes to labor standards, and revised workplace violence and harassment obligations, among other
things. This article summarizes some of these changes and looks at what is on the horizon for Canada’s federally regulated employers. On September 1, 2019, the government proclaimed amendments to bills that made significant changes to the Canada Labour Code, the legislation that establishes the collective bargaining, health and safety, and
labor standards rights and responsibilities for the estimated 18,000 federally regulated employers and 900,000 federally regulated employees across Canada. The amendments apply to the labor standards in Part III of the Code. They touch on everything from job scheduling to breaks, vacations, holiday pay continued on page 16