OMG, that’s an incredible question that we should use for an article!
If you’re federally-regulated, it means you just gotta follow the Canada Labour Code and not worry about provincial laws like Bill 148.
Right?
WRONG!
Unfortunately, it’s more complicated than that because of Canada’s quirky federalism rules and the fact that federally-regulated workers do their job inside a province and provincially-regulated workers may also do their job at a federally-regulated site, e.g., construction workers doing a project at Pearson Airport in Toronto.
The basic rule is that the applicable law is based on the identity of the employer rather than where the work is actually carried out. But exceptions apply. Note also that BOTH laws may apply at multi-employer sites where workers of both federally and provincially regulated workers work.
Those are the general principles. It’s hard to advise you without knowing more about your operations. And even if I did know how your business works, I couldn’t offer you legal counsel. But while you do need to ask a lawyer, I think there are 2 bits I can offer as a general opinion:
*Bill 148 probably won’t cover your own employees even if they work in a provincially regulated workplace; and
*Bill 148 almost certainly will cover workers of any Ontario-regulated companies you use at your workplace, even if that site is federally regulated.
I know it’s a bit convoluted but federalism is a complex and wonderful thing!
Glenn Demby, 203 354-4532
