LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Immigration

Aug 10: The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is introducing telephone reporting in areas formerly covered by the Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) Program. Starting December 1, all travelers entering Canada through remote areas of northern Ontario or the Northwest Angle into southern Manitoba, must report to the CBSA at a port of entry or designated telephone reporting site.

Action Point: Find out how to navigate current Canadian immigration eligibility requirements for port-of-entry.

New Laws

Jul 20: The federal government increased the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), a monthly tax-free payment to help families pay for raising children, to up to $8,157 per child under the age of 6 and up to $6,883 per child aged 6 to 17. That’s a year-to-year increase of up to $160 per child under age 6 and up to $135 per child age 6 to 17.

New Laws

Jul 27: The federal government launched public consultations on Bill C-35, which was tabled in Parliament in June to ban the import of goods produced by forced labour. Under the Bill, the Minister of Foreign Affairs would establish a list of goods in respect for which there are reasonable grounds to suspect are produced by forced labour. Deadline to comment: August 21.

Action Point: Find out about current Canadian child and forced labour import rules.

New Laws

Jul 31: The federal government imposed a temporary (200 days) 25% surtax on imports of certain wood cabinets and vanities, pending the results of a Canadian International Trade Tribunal safeguard inquiry to determine if increased imports are causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury to Canadian wood manufacturers. The Tribunal is expected to finish the inquiry and issue recommendations by January 15, 2027. If it finds no injury, the surtax, which doesn’t cover trade partners the U.S., Mexico, Israel, and Chile, will end immediately.

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

New Laws

Aug 10: The federal government is offering oyster harvesters in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick a one-time payment of $40,000 for voluntarily agreeing to the permanent retirement of their wild oyster licences and permits. The new Oyster Licence Retirement Grant Program is designed to ease pressure on wild oyster stocks which have diminished by the spread of the diseases MSX and Dermo.

Labour Relations

Aug 2: Comments closed on proposed changes to the Canada Labour Code. Labour relations issues on the table include expanded government powers to keep labour peace, expedited grievance arbitration, bad faith bargaining, duration of strikes and lockouts, and first collective agreements.

Action Point: Find out what you can and can’t do when a union tries to organize your employees

Health & Safety

Jul 20: As of today, any foreign national who was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo within the past 21 days is banned from entering Canada due to the threat of Ebola. From now through August 29, Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and foreign travelers seeking to enter Canada who’ve been in the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the previous 21 days must undergo assessment for Ebola upon arrival.

Health & Safety

Jul 7: Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) issued a new Hazard Alert warning against the risks of Legionella bacteria in the workplace. When inhaled, the bacterium causes Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia or lung inflammation. Legionella may be present in water-cooled industrial and commercial air conditioners, stagnant potable water pipes, decorative water displays, faucets, and humidifiers.

Action Point: Find out how to create a legally and clinically sound workplace Exposure Control Plan to protect your employees against the risk of Legionnaires’ and other infectious illnesses.

Health & Safety

Aug 4: Health Canada gave the greenlight to Moderna, the pharmaceutical firm that developed the first COVID-19 vaccine, to move forward with a Phase I clinical trial for a potential vaccine for Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. Canada is the second country to authorize a Phase I clinical trial for a Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidate after the U.K.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a nondiscriminatory and reasonable mandatory vaccination policy at your workplace.

New Laws

Sep 13: The federal Competition Bureau ended public consultations on proposed Cartel Enforcement Guidelines for cracking down on bid-rigging, price-fixing, market allocation, supply restriction, wage-fixing, no-poaching, and other illegal business agreements. The Guidelines are particularly important for businesses that engage in mergers and acquisitions and/or interact with competitors and other businesses via collaborations or joint ventures.

Action Point: Find out how to handle the HR issues that typically arise when a company is involved in a corporate merger or acquisition.

Health & Safety

Jul 8: Transport Canada reminded the public that flying a drone within 9.3 km (5 nautical miles) of wildfires is not only highly dangerous but also illegal. Airspace surrounding wildfires is restricted to aircraft involved in wildfire response. Drone pilots who break the rules could face significant penalties, including jail, fines, and Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs) of up to $3,000 for individuals and $15,000 for corporations.

CASES

Drugs & Alcohol: Onboard Drug Inspection of Officers’ Bunks Is Valid Safety Measure

A merchant shipping company performed a surprise inspection of officers’ cabins using drug sniffing resulting in the seizure of alcohol and cannabis products. The union cried foul, contending that the cabins were the officers’ “homes” and that the warrantless and unannounced search violated their privacy expectations. The company insisted the inspection was a reasonable safety measure given the dangers, not to mention illegality, of officers being high at sea. The federal arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that the search violated neither the law nor the collective agreement. And the company’s interest in ensuring safety and complying with shipping laws onboard sobriety requirements outweighed the officers’ privacy rights [Canadian Merchant Service Guild v. Desgagnés Marine Cargo Inc., 2026 CanLII 69369 (CA SA), July 10, 2026].

Action Point: Random inspection and testing is difficult to justify even in a safety-sensitive workplace like aboard a merchant ship. Find out how to create a legally sound drug testing policy at your workplace.

Absenteeism: OK to Fire Safety-Sensitive Worker for Turning Off Radio and Taking a Nap

A fuel runner working the night shift at Toronto Pearson International Airport left his post without authorization for two hours, turned off his radio rendering himself unreachable, and went into an unauthorized passenger where he was found sleeping in his Air Canada uniform. While acknowledging that discipline was in order, the union claimed that termination was too severe, noting that other employees who got caught sleeping on the job didn’t get fired. But the arbitrator wasn’t impressed, noting that in none of those past cases did a safety-sensitive employee deliberately turn off their radios. This wasn’t just an absenteeism or sleeping on the job situation, it was a serious safety infraction the arbitrator reasoned in finding just cause for termination [Air Canada v Iam, District Lodge 140, 2026 CanLII 70772 (CA LA), June 30, 2026].

Action Point: The reason Air Canada won is because the employee’s unauthorized nap wasn’t simply a question of productivity but also a significant safety risk. Get help in determining whether sleeping on the job is just cause to terminate.