On June 20, 2018, the federal government introduced Bill C-81, An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada, the long-awaited national accessibility legislation which will enable the government of Canada to take a proactive approach to end systemic discrimination of people with disabilities.

The Bill also known as the Accessible Canada Act would establish a model to eliminate accessibility barriers and lead to more consistent accessibility in areas covered by federally regulated sectors such as banking, inter-provincial and international transportation, telecommunications and government-run services such as Canada Post and federally funded organizations. Moreover, the Bill aims to “identify, remove and . . . [more]

The number of workers over the age of 65 has risen significantly in recent years. The increasing number of older employees who choose to remain in the workplace, combined with the elimination of mandatory retirement across Canada, has put into question the issue of the termination of benefits after an employee reaches the age of 65.

While most employers routinely terminate benefits at age 65, the changing workforce demographic has created a demand for benefits coverage for older workers. However, providing benefits to employees past the age of 65 can be difficult because insurers either will not provide the coverage, . . . [more]

On May 9, 2018, the Quebec government published its criteria for reasonable accommodation under an Act to foster adherence to State religious neutrality and, in particular, to provide a framework for requests for accommodations on religious grounds in certain bodies (the Act, previously Bill 62) that requires among other things, Quebecers to leave their faces uncovered in order to provide or receive public services.

Under the Act, employees and members of public bodies and certain other bodies, as well as elected persons, must exercise their functions with their face uncovered. In addition, persons who request a service from one of . . . [more]

Law month, Google released new features for its paying customers of Gmail, including Gmail Confidential Mode. The initial announcement stated,

On May 7, 2018, the Ontario government filed Ontario Regulation 375/18 under the Employment Standards Act, to change temporarily how public holiday is to be paid and calculated. In essence, the government is reverting back to the old formula that was in place before the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148) came into force January 1, 2018. . . . [more]

On April 12, 2018, the British Columbia government granted third reading to Bill 6, Employment Standards Amendment Act, 2018 to better support working families by providing new, extended and more flexible maternity, parental and compassionate care leaves. The Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent. Specifically, when enacted, the Bill will: . . . [more]

The federal Standing Committee on Health is recommending a single-payer, universal prescription drug plan for Canada. The recommendation came in its report Pharmacare Now: Prescription Medicine Coverage for all Canadians (in PDF), tabled in the House of Commons on April 18, 2018. . . . [more]

The Ontario government is updating the accessible employment standards to make employment more accessible to people with disabilities. Consequently, the Employment Standards Development Committee would like to get interested stakeholders and the public’s feedback on the initial recommendations to the 2018 Review of the Employment Standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

The following is the Employment Standards Development Committee’s initial advice and recommendations on the initial proposed Employment Standards, itemized and organized by focus area, and some thoughts. . . . [more]

On March 22, 2018, the Quebec government introduced Bill 174: An Act mainly to relax the parental insurance plan to promote better family-work balance. If enacted, this Act comes into force on the date of assent, except section 12, which comes into force on the date to be set by the Government.

The main changes in the Bill include:

1. Maternity benefits

• Increase the period, currently 18 weeks, to 25 weeks, within which maternity benefits can be provided following the birth of a child.
• Increase the number of weeks of maternity benefits for a multiple pregnancy. In the event of

On March 20, 2018, the Quebec government tabled Bill 176, An Act to amend the Act respecting labour standards and other legislative provisions mainly to facilitate family-work balance to facilitate work-family balance and to modernize and reform Quebec labour standards. Labour Minister Dominique Vien said, "The many proposed changes take into account the new realities of workplaces, such as the changing family patterns, the aging population and ensuing retirements, and would encourage the retention of staff in a context of scarcity of labour." Measures in the Bill include: . . . [more]

Recent research comparing family law dispute resolution processes from the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family and the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice provides fascinating insights on the views and attitudes of lawyers in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The report, described in an earlier article by Jean-Paul Bevilacqua, concludes that while family law lawyers view litigation as useful for high-conflict disputes and cases involving risks to persons and property, litigation is not their preferred resolution process. The lawyers surveyed said that mediation, collaborative negotiation and arbitration are more likely to produce results that are in . . . [more]

On March 20, 2018, the Manitoba government introduced legislation that would amend the Employment Standards Code to, among other things, extend provisions for parental leave and leave for individuals to care for a critically ill adult family member.

The changes to the Employment Standards Code include: . . . [more]