Day One: Tuesday, May 9, 2023
10:00 EDT
15 minWelcome and Opening Remarks from the Chair
10:15 EDT
60 minEmployer Obligations Under New and Challenging Harassment & Violence Regulations: How to Incorporate the Changes into Your Workplace Policies & Procedures
Simon-Pierre Paquette, Director, Labour, Employment & Litigation, Purolator Inc.
- Employer obligations
- What your policy must include:
- A workplace assessment to be completed by relevant personnel to develop and implement preventative measures within six months
- Identified risk factors including office culture, external circumstances and the physical design of the workplace
- Emergency procedures
- A workplace harassment and violence prevention policy with reports, records and data to assist the investigator
- A resolution process, including time frames to better support employees or people accused
- Support measures for employees
- Documentation on how to protect the privacy of people involved,
- An annual report (next due date) to the minister of labour.
- Mandatory training for employees
- Need to be aware of each required investigation or resolution step and the timelines associated with those steps
- Implementation know-how
- Typical and atypical mistakes that can prove costly and how to avoid them
11:15 EDT
60 minEmployer Implementation of New Policies / Government Enforcement of New Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations: Observations and Insights
Michelle Sterling, Senior Investigator, Employment and Social Development Canada
The stand-alone Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations effective January 2021 bring significant change to federal labour law rules. Employers are expected to have an effective policy and to move from discussion to action.
- 2 and a half years in, how is employer implementation proceeding?
- What stakeholder feedback has been received?
- Is the law being enforced?
- Are complaints being received?
- Management and Union observations and comments
12:15 EDT
60 minBreak
13:15 EDT
60 minRecent Changes to Paid Sick Leave and More: New Questions Arise
Find out about recent amendments to leave and benefit provisions, including amendments that came into force as recently as December 1, 2022, entitling federal employees to 10 days of paid medical leave per year.
New questions arise:
- Does an employee out on LTD now have 10 days paid sick leave?
- Changes to paid and unpaid medical leave
- Bereavement leave
- New employer record-keeping requirements related to new leave entitlements
- New family violence leave
- Traditional Indigenous practices leave
- Parental sharing benefits
- Removal of service, eligibility requirements
- What will be considered a greater right or benefit under a collective agreement?
- Effective December 18, 2022, employees have up to 27 weeks of unpaid medical leave
14:15 EDT
45 minCalculating Hours of Work Requirements, Requirements for On-Call Employees, Breaks, Rest Periods and More: New Rules and Important Exemptions
Hours of work, standard workday and work week, rest days, breaks, notice of schedule and shift change, overtime, exemptions from standard work hours, averaging and more. In addition to significant changes to the Canada Labour Code in 2019 that had an impact on how employers manage an employee’s workday, recent exemptions for and modifications to hours of work provisions add further complexity.
This session will provide:
- The information you need to effectively comply with the Code
- Requirement to provide at least 96 hours before the first shift and to give 24 hours’ written notice before changing or adding a shift
- Right to refuse overtime
- Important exemptions from and modifications to Hours of Work Regulations
- impact of collective agreement rights
- Flexible work arrangements
- Vacation time and pay
- Calculating entitlements to avoid costly mistakes
- Questions to ask to verify compliance with daily and weekly hours of work requirement
15:00 EDT
15 minBreak
15:15 EDT
45 minNotable Decisions: Canada Industrial Relations Board Cases to Be Aware Of
Sylvie Guilbert, Vice-Chairperson, Canada Industrial Relations Board
- Increased powers for the CIRB
- What is CIRB responsible for dealing with?
- Unjust dismissals
- Wage recovery appeals
- Reprisal allegations
- Occupational Health and Safety Appeals
- Important new cases
16:00 EDT
30 minWrap Up, Q & A and Next Steps
Simon-Pierre Paquette, Director, Labour, Employment & Litigation, Purolator Inc.
16:30 EDT
End of Day One
Day Two: Wednesday, May 10, 2023
10:00 EDT
15 minWelcome and Opening Remarks from the Chair
10:15 EDT
60 minEnforcement of Labour Standards
Kelley Banfield, Labour Affairs Officer, Labour Standards, Employment and Social Development Canada
Types of Inspections
- Targeted Inspection
- General Inspection
Complaints Processes
- Monetary
- Non-Monetary
- Unjust Dismissal
Enforcement Tools
- Payment Order
- Order to Debtor
- Compliance Order / Notice of Violations
Penalties
- Administrative Fees
- Administrative Monetary Penalties
Common Mistakes / Contraventions
- Misclassification
- Unauthorized Deductions
- Overtime
- Vacation Pay Rates
Record Keeping
Counselling Sessions
11:15 EDT
45 minMandatory Pay Equity Obligations – The Clock is Ticking! Where Are You as Deadlines Close in?
Eric Diotte, Pay Equity Unit Director, Canada Human Rights Commission
All federally regulated employers with an average of ten or more employees, must: create job classes, determine the value of work of these job classes, determine which ones are predominantly female and which ones are predominantly male, calculate and compare total compensation and post a final pay equity plan – all by September 4th, 2024. The clock is ticking:
- What proactive pay equity means in the federal context
- Introduction to the mandate and duties of the Pay Equity Commissioner
- Overview and timelines for key pay equity milestones
- How the Pay Equity Unit can help
12:00 EDT
45 minBreak
12:45 EDT
45 minUpdate on Pay Transparency Legislation Across Canada
- The need for more accessible information regarding wage gaps
- How pay transparency legislation can prompt employers to take action to examine their practices and show leadership in reducing wage gaps that affect various marginalized communities such as women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities
- Recent amendments to the regulations under the Employment Equity Act that address pay transparency
- Actions employers need to take to comply with requirements of the legislation.
13:30 EDT
45 minNew and Proposed Amendments to Canada Labour Code and Labour Standards: What Does the Future Hold?
Trisha Gain, Legal Counsel - Litigation & Labour, Canadian Pacific Railway
- Effective December 18, 2022, Employment Insurance (“EI”) sickness benefit claims extended to 26 weeks from 15 – questions and implications
- Under Discussion: Ban on Replacement workers:
- Proposed changes to termination of employment
- Accessibility Standards Canada Publishes Guidelines for COVID-19 and Other Emergencies
14:15 EDT
15 minBreak
14:30 EDT
45 minThe Latest on the Accessible Canada Act: Removing Barriers to Inclusion
Roberto Lattanzio, Executive Director, ARCH Disability Law Centre
- Three entities created through the Act
- The mandate of Accessibility Standards Canada (Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization)
- Priority areas for standard development
- Planning and reporting requirements
- How will accessibility be enforced
- Complaints
- Monitoring progress
- Accessibility Strategy – becoming an inclusive employer of choice
15:15 EDT
45 minProtection of Officers and Directors & Civil, Regulatory and Criminal Code Issues for Federally Regulated Employers
- Civil, criminal and regulatory D&O standards of care
- Civil Liability Risk for D&Os
- Regulatory Risk for D&O
- White Collar Criminal Risk and Liability
- The Westray Bill
- Insider Trading
- CFPOA
- Enforcement, Penalties & Sentencing
- DPAs, Monitorships & ADR Availability
16:00 EDT
End of Day Two
Pre-Conference Workshop: Monday, May 8, 2023
14:00 EDT
150 minWhich Law Applies?
Canada Labour Code OR Provincial Legislation
The question of whether federal or provincial law applies to an organization is important, complex and highly fact specific. This session will help you knowledgeably and systematically assess your situation to make this determination.
- How getting the jurisdictional question “wrong” can lead to costly regulatory violations.
- How federal and provincial courts decided which law should apply in the past: Broad versus restrictive approaches
- How your jurisdiction can be considered, Courts, Tribunals, workplace safety and more.
- How determining whether First Nations employers are provincially or federally regulated determines statutory obligations under labour standards, occupational health and safety, human rights, labour relations and other legislation
- Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in NIL/TU,O Child and Family Services Society and the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, et al
- Presumption that labour relations falls under provincial jurisdiction
- 2-step test for displacing the presumption
- Important recent determinations, including inter-provincial trade and telecommunications
- Nelson v. Lower Stl/Atl’mxTribal Council: Fiduciary duties to give First Nations’ peoples the rights pursuant to the laws of Canada, in this case the right to reinstatement
- Functions that fall under federal jurisdiction
- When an employer is located on reserve land and its function is to manufacture products or operate retail businesses, it would be governed by provincial laws
- Examples of where First Nations operations were found to be federally regulated
- Examples where First Nations operations are provincially regulated
16:30 EDT
End of Pre-Conference Workshop