LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Immigration

May 14: Legislation (Bill 26) to strengthen provincial oversight of employers, foreign worker recruiters, and immigration consultants received Royal Assent. The Immigration Oversight Act requires employers to register with the province before accessing federal temporary foreign worker programs and establishes a licensing system for immigration consultants and foreign worker recruiters.

Action Point: Find out what companies and their HR directors need to know to navigate the immigration law maze.

New Laws

Apr 16: Royal Assent for Bill 21, the Interprovincial Trade Mutual Recognition Act, allowing goods and services from other provinces to be sold in Alberta if they meet regulatory standards in their home province. Thus, for example, Albertans could buy equipment manufactured in Ontario that meets Ontario regulations even though Alberta’s regulations governing that particular equipment differ.

Action Point: Find out about the 5 ways the new interprovincial free trade and labour mobility regulations will impact HR operations.

New Laws

Apr 22: Alberta launched a new Canadian Trucking Regulations Hub website to help truck drivers navigate regulatory and operational differences across provinces and territories. Each province and territory contributed and will maintain its own data to ensure it remains accurate and up to date. Available in English and French, the Hub includes jurisdictional comparisons, route planning, permit information, vehicle configuration details, and other features.

New Laws

May 14: Royal Assent for Bill 30 establishing a 120-day approval time frame and clear criteria for government approval of major project developments of at least $250 million. To qualify for expedited approval, projects must align with provincial economic priorities. Project proponents will have to complete the mandatory environmental impact assessment and Indigenous consultation processes.

New Laws

May 12: The Canada–Alberta Workforce Tariff Response program will provide $68.5 million over three years to support workers and employers in the steel, softwood lumber, and other industrial sectors affected by tariffs. The funding will help more than 7,800 workers in Alberta build new skills and transition into in-demand jobs, including workers whose employers are participating in Employment Insurance (EI) Work-Sharing agreements.

Action Point: Find out about the 8 ways the U.S. tariffs affect Canadian workplaces and HR activities.

New Laws

Apr 29: Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) will provide $91 million in Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program funding to support businesses seeking to upgrade their technology infrastructure, reduce emissions, and boost productivity. TIER funding will make these long-term transformational projects, which generally involve significant upfront investment and long payback periods, more viable for industries to undertake. Deadline to apply: June 17.

New Laws

Apr 22: Alberta published a new Advisory Panel report recommending what the government should do to foster a nuclear energy industry in the province. Based on recent public consultations, the recommendations encompass safety, efficiency, environmental, licensing, and other regulatory concerns.

New Laws

May 14: Newly passed red tape cutting legislation (Bill 31) moves Alberta to permanent, year-round Mountain Daylight Time. This spring, British Columbia became the first Canadian province to end seasonal time change and make the permanent switch to Daylight Savings Time.

Health & Safety

Apr 1: Alberta published the revised list of officially approved first aid training agencies and courses for purposes of complying with OHS first aid requirements for the three-month period from April 1 to June 30, 2026.

Workplace Violence

Mar 19: Alberta’s new $62 million Emergency Family Violence Services program will provide coordinated, needs-based funding for core emergency family violence services and victim support.

Action Point: Are you doing enough to protect your employees against violence at work? Find out about the 10 things you must do to prevent workplace violence.

CASES

Discrimination: Asking About Retirement Isn’t Age Discrimination, but Predicting It Is

A 66-year-old employee terminated for cause claimed he was the victim of age discrimination based on a trio of interactions with his new boss over a roughly three-month period. In the first, the boss asked if he’d be open to a payout for resigning; a month later, when the employee raised concerns about planning for the future, the boss allegedly responded “what do you care? You won’t be here.” During his performance review a month later, the boss asked him when he was going to retire. The employer claimed the exchanges were a legitimate exercise in succession planning. But the Alberta Human Rights Commission refused to dismiss the complaint. Simply asking about retirement plans doesn’t necessarily constitute age discrimination, the Alberta Human Right Commission noted. However, the boss’ second “what do you care” remark wasn’t such an inquiry but an indication that the employee would be retiring soon, whether he liked it or not [Scherer v Town of Taber, 2026 AHRC 53 (CanLII), April 16, 2026].

Action Point: Find out how to implement a legally sound age discrimination policy at your workplace.

Retaliation: Company Can’t Prove that Termination Was NOT Retaliatory

A rope access technician complained that he got fired for raising asbestos concerns. The company, a safety services firm, denied that any of its workers were exposed to asbestos and insisted that it terminated the technician for his negative attitude and work ethic. The OHS investigator concluded that the firm didn’t meet its reverse burden of proving that termination was for a reason other than the technician’s exercise of his OHS right to express his asbestos exposure concerns and ordered it to pay him $1,581 in damages. The Alberta Labour Relations Board ruled that the officer’s calculation of money damages was out of whack with OHS law principles and sent the case back down for redetermination of the proper penalty [McLean v IRISNDT Corp. and Occupational Health and Safety, 2026 ABOHSAB 7 (CanLII), April 8, 2026].

Action Point: Find out how to avoid inadvertent reprisals or retaliation.