Month in Review – Newfoundland and Labrador

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Month in Review – Newfoundland and Labrador

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LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Laws

Jul 27: The province announced that it will provide more than $9 million in funding for municipal capital works projects in communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador through the Build Communities Strong Fund (BCSF) community stream. The money will be used to support critical water, wastewater, and related municipal infrastructure projects.

New Laws

Aug 1: The federal government announced funding to support the repair and reconstruction of the breakwater at the small craft harbour in Fortune, as well as dredging of the harbour basin at the small craft harbour in Burin, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Fortune project will improve the breakwater at the entrance to Fortune Harbour, enhancing its long-term resilience and helping protect the vital transportation and economic hub that supports local fisheries. The Burin project will restore safe navigational depths within the harbour basin by dredging accumulated sediment.

Accessibility

Jul 22: Newfoundland and Labrador signed onto the new nationwide memorandum of understanding under which the federal government, provinces, and territories promised to work together to boost accessibility and align accessibility standards across Canada.

Action Point: Does your company’s website meet accessibility standards? Find out how to implement a legally sound Website Accessibility Policy.

Workplace Violence

Aug 4: The federal government will provide $700,000 over the next five years to renew its support for gender-based violence crisis hotline and response services across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Action Point: Domestic and gender-based violence becomes an OHS issue and liability risk for employers when it happens at the victim’s workplace. Find out how to protect your employees from the risk of workplace domestic violence.

Drugs & Alcohol

Jul 22: Newfoundland and Labrador signed a multi-province agreement with British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan to allow direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol sales for personal consumption. Under the agreement, eligible wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries will be permitted to sell and ship directly to consumers across participating provinces. Under the framework, producers from outside the province must register with Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) and receive written authorization before selling and delivering beverage alcohol directly to consumers in the province.

CASES

Discrimination: Employee Was Terminated Due to His Poor Performance, Not His Cancer History

A skin cancer survivor claimed his previous diagnosis led to his firing after less than a year with the company. The company denied the charge and insisted that termination was based solely on the employee’s documented performance failures. The Newfoundland Human Rights Commission dismissed the employee’s claim of discrimination for perceived disability. The fact that the employee had a conversation about his bout with cancer with management two days before getting fired, if the conversation actually did happen, wasn’t enough evidence to prove that cancer had anything to do with the company’s decision [Power v Aqua Sol Enterprises Inc., 2026 CanLII 78251 (NL HRC), August 3, 2026].

Action Point: A person who’s not disabled may still be the victim of disability discrimination if the employer perceives the person as being disabled, even if that perception is wrong.