Labour & Employment
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December 13, 2024
Federal government intervenes to end postal strike as early as next week
In what one labour lawyer calls a significant challenge to legal norms, the federal government has announced that the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) will intervene to potentially bring an end to a strike by 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) as early as next week.
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December 13, 2024
Nova Scotia education minister moves to justice file
Nova Scotia has a new justice minister. Lawyer and former education minister Becky Druhan has been given the job of justice minister and attorney general following the Progressive Conservatives’ recent re-election as a majority government.
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December 12, 2024
Immigration update: What’s coming (and not) with the new U.S. administration
Since September of this year, the number one question I have been hearing from clients is, “What will happen with immigration under the new Trump administration?” Individuals wishing to have access to the U.S. and/or work or live in the U.S. are concerned that immigration will become difficult or impossible under President-elect Trump’s rules and policies as he enters his second (and final) term.
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December 12, 2024
Stop being scared to dismiss for cause | Stuart Rudner
For my last column of 2024, I want to return to one of my favourite topics: summary dismissal. The just cause cases that cross my desk, whether as counsel or mediator, are always interesting and often entertaining. Of course, there could be far more if employers (and their counsel) were not so scared to pursue summary dismissal, even when justified.
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December 11, 2024
Deemed trust amendment shields fresh produce sellers, helps exporters, says industry
Canada's $13 billion fresh produce industry is welcoming an amendment to federal insolvency laws establishing a deemed trust financial protection mechanism for fresh produce sellers.
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December 11, 2024
Employment risks for franchisors in Ontario: Are you prepared?
Franchise businesses offer a mix of benefits and challenges, but one often-overlooked area is how franchise law interacts with employment law. In Ontario, franchisors could face unexpected employment liabilities due to two important legal doctrines: the “related” and “common” employer doctrines, as well as the potential for franchisees to be classified as employees. Failing to account for these risks could lead to serious financial exposure.
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December 10, 2024
CBSA annual report notes increase in smuggling attempts and inadmissible entries
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has released its year in review report for 2024, highlighting that between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, it “seized more dangerous drugs and firearms, and intercepted more stolen vehicles than in 2023.”
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December 09, 2024
Court grants injunction against CUPW blockade at Purolator facility amid Canada Post strike
The Ontario Superior Court has maintained the validity of an ex-parte injunction restraining Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) members from blocking access to and from a Purolator facility in relation to the ongoing labour dispute at Canada Post.
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December 06, 2024
No Charter breach when police warrantlessly searched text messages in ‘exigent circumstances’: SCC
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed 6-3 an Ontario man’s appeal of his drug trafficking convictions, holding that his Charter rights were not breached because “exigent circumstances” justified police, without a warrant, using a cellphone they seized from a drug dealer to impersonate that dealer and continue his texting with the accused to arrange what police suspected to be a purchase of fentanyl-laced heroin.
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December 06, 2024
Alberta court certifies class action against Canada over alleged sexual abuse by military priest
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has certified a class action against the federal government relating to alleged child sexual abuse said to be caused by a military priest at an Edmonton army base.