While the percentage of office spaces that are vacant in Canada is higher than at any point since 1994, rental prices have remained fairly stable as a result of institutional owners willing to pay pre-pandemic rates, according to a new report by CBRE Group. “I think everyone has to stop clutching at pearls, take a […]
Ontario is extending a temporary paid sick leave program for workers until the end of this year. Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced that the coronavirus pandemic program set to expire on Sept. 25 will be extended to Dec. 31, 2021. He said the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant prompted the move to give more […]
Uber Technologies Inc. is revealing more details of a labour model it’s pitching to Canadian provinces and territories, a model that’s drawn opposition from some worker groups. The Flexible Work+ model the San Francisco-based tech giant has pushed since March asks provinces and territories to force Uber and other app-based companies to create a self-directed […]
If elected, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh is pledging to begin working with provinces immediately to deliver a single-payer, public pharmacare program for all Canadians. The NDP say millions of people can’t afford to take the medications they need and must skip doses, cut their pills in half or even go without them. “We […]
As more Canadian employers implement coronavirus vaccine policies for staff and clients, Hermie Abraham, an employment lawyer, says provisions that still allow unvaccinated people to participate are at the core of their legality. Porter Airlines, Sun Life Financial Inc. and Twitter Inc. have joined a growing list of Canadian businesses that will require their employees […]
Ottawa will require federal employees and workers in federally regulated industries to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, marking a shift in the federal government’s position on vaccine mandates. The move — which will affect roughly 1.5 million workers — is necessary to protect against more dangerous variants of the coronavirus, says Dominic LeBlanc, head of the Privy […]
Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice has certified a class-action lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc., which advances a fight to get some of the platform’s Canadian couriers and drivers recognized as employees. The class action was certified by Judge Justin Paul Perell in a decision released late Thursday afternoon and stems from a court filing made […]
The first strike at Vale Canada in more than a decade is drawing to a close after unionized workers at the Sudbury, Ont., mine ratified a collective agreement that includes improved pension and health benefits. Through the agreement — which expires May 31, 2026 — the monthly pre-age 65 defined benefit pension will increase by $50 to […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s considering making coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for some federally regulated workplaces in a bid to boost Canada’s vaccination levels. He’s asked the country’s top bureaucrat to look at whether any federal workers should be required to get vaccinated. Almost 82 per cent of eligible Canadians at least 12 years old have […]
Providing free pads and tampons in federally regulated workplaces could cost employers more than $1 million annually to become a reality, Canada’s labour minister was told earlier this year. The March briefing note to Filomena Tassi estimated the annual employer costs would likely be $1.17 million to provide free tampons and pads, based on an annual, […]