NS Employers: Prepare for New Legal Obligations in September 2025

Written by Erin Mitchell with assistance from Alexander Eddy, Articled Clerk in Halifax Beginning September 1, 2025, employers in Nova Scotia will have a new set of obligations surrounding workplace harassment prevention and workplace safety. On September 20, 2024, the Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act received Royal Assent and became law. This legislation amends […]

Shareholder Agreements Can Limit Wrongful Dismissal Damages

Written by: Matthew K. LeBlanc What happens when a company terminates someone who is both an employee and a shareholder? In Kirke v Spartan Controls Ltd, 2025 ABCA 40 (“Spartan Controls”), the Alberta Court of Appeal reiterated the distinction between a person’s employment rights and their shareholder rights, and held that the payments owed upon […]

Notice to Employers: Be Careful – Your Employees Might Be...

Introduction Artificial intelligence holds the promise of delivering new waves of efficiency and productivity in the workplace, but it also carries risk for employers who don’t mitigate operational, reputational, and legal risks associated with unauthorized use. Generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot are free tools at the fingertips of employees. […]

Time Theft is Theft

A recent decision from western Canada gives employers confidence that circumstantial evidence can be relied on to justify the termination of an employee for time theft. The decision also provides support for categorizing time theft as theft in the ordinary sense of the word, for disciplinary purposes. Time theft is generally understood as the falsification […]

An Insight into the Francophone Mobility Program: Strengthening Our Communities...

To promote Francophone immigration to communities throughout Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC’) launched its Francophone Mobility Program (“FMP”) in 2016. This program provides options to make it easier for employers to hire French-speaking or bilingual workers outside Quebec. Hiring a French-speaking or bilingual candidate could provide a number of advantages, such as the […]

This Month in New Brunswick Family Law – April 2023

GM v JG, 2023 NBKB 57 Justice Danys R.X. Delaquis Subject Matter: Parenting Orders | Jurisdiction The parties have a 5-year-old child, who was born in New York. The Applicant is a Canadian citizen living in Saint John and the Respondent is an American citizen living in New York. The child has dual citizenship. The […]

January 10, 2023

Employment & Labour – Top Ten Cases of 2022

For the past couple of years, our lives and legal system have been pre-occupied by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the many issues it has presented. However, there are many other decisions that have been released during this last year which may have an impact on employers. Below we have summarized what we believe are the […]

Enough is Enough: The Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta Cracks...

Nearly five years following the start of the #MeToo movement, courts, administrative tribunals, and arbitrators are cracking down on sexual harassment in the workplace. See also: Employers May Terminate for a Single Incident of Harassment and Employment & Labour – Top 10 Cases of 2021. In Yaschuk v Emerson Electric Canada Limited, 2022 AHRC 62, […]

Gender Identity and Gender Expression: Things Employers Should Know

On April 26, 2022, members of Cox & Palmer’s Regional Employment & Labour group presented a webinar titled “Hot Topics in Human Resources: Spring 2022” which included the subtopic of Gender Identity and Gender Expression. With Pride Month on the horizon, we wanted to continue the conversation and provide employers with  further insight on how […]

Employers May Terminate for a Single Incident of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is one of the most serious forms of workplace misconduct. While acts of sexual harassment can occur on a spectrum of severity, a single incident of sexual harassment can warrant termination. This is especially the case if the employee lacks remorse and responsibility. In Render v ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310, […]