RECORDED – July 18, 2017
3:00-4:30 p.m. ET

After decades of status quo workplace laws and in recognition of the changing nature of work and labour market more generally, both the Ontario and Alberta governments announced changes to their respective employment and labour laws – within the same week. 

In response to the Final Report from the 'Changing Workplaces Review' and in the context of an upcoming election, the Ontario government is contemplating a broad range of amendments to the Employment Standards Act, Labour Relations Act and Occupational Health and Safety Act including: increases to the minimum wage ($15) and vacation entitlements; new paid sick leave provisions; new personal emergency leave rules; equal pay for part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal workers; shift scheduling in retail and fast food sectors; expanding the scope of unionization to traditionally uncovered sectors; etc.  The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act 2017 is expected to be introduced into law in 2018. 

The Alberta government's proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Act as outlined in The Fair and Friendly Workplaces Act addresses similar issues pertaining to leaves, hours of work, vacation entitlements and union certification.

Join us in this webcast to learn more about how these legislative changes will impact workers, employers, workplaces and the Canadian economy more generally. In this webcast, Natasha D. Monkman addresses the legislative changes from an employer perspective, outlining how these changes will impact businesses especially smaller operations and why employers need to exercise caution when implementing them. Thevaki Thevaratnam provides a labour perspective, discussing what the new workplace laws mean for workers as well as highlighting what was not addressed in the legislation.

Speakers:
Natasha D. Monkman [view bio]
LLP  Associate
Hicks Morley
Toronto, Ontario

Thevaki Thevaratnam [view bio]
Director of Research and Education
Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL)
Toronto, Ontario