McInnes Cooper is committed to creating an inclusive workplace environment that values, respects and supports the different perspectives, cultures and experiences of our clients and our people. We believe that providing a workplace rich in diversity inspires all members of our team to realize their full potential.
We are proud to sponsor the Halifax Pride Festival, and we wish everyone happy, safe and inclusive celebrations during the 2018 Pride festival season.
Aug 10, 2023
Canada’s first Tech Talent Strategy aims to aggressively attract tech talent to “fuel innovation and drive emerging technologies forward”.…
Jun 7, 2023
Many Canadian employers continue to be challenged not only with hiring the right number of people, but with finding candidates with the right…
Mar 29, 2023
Immigration continues to play a key role in addressing Canada’s labour and skills shortage. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada…
Mar 16, 2023
We updated this publication on March 30, 2023. On January 1, 2023, the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians…
Feb 23, 2023
Many Canadian employers continue to be challenged not only with hiring the right number of people, but with finding candidates with the right…
Dec 8, 2022
The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) began as a pilot program in 2017, and became a permanent federal immigration program in 2022. While the…
Sep 23, 2022
Climate migrants aren’t yet arriving on Canadian shores en masse - but the growing number of extreme weather events in Canada and around the…
Sep 20, 2022
We updated this publication on August 10, 2023. Canada’s Express Entry system, introduced in 2015, has been a successful and well-received…
May 10, 2022
We updated this publication on March 1, 2023. On January 1, 2022, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program became the permanent Atlantic…
Apr 28, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic changed many aspects of the workplace for good – but pre-pandemic labour shortages isn’t one of them. While the…
Mar 14, 2022
As part of the Government of Canada’s overall response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)…
Oct 27, 2021
On October 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Northern Regional Health Authority v. Horrocks, clarified that labour arbitrators have…
Jul 27, 2021
Canadian entities regularly contract with foreign companies to provide services in Canada. To complete its obligations under the contract, the…
Jul 21, 2021
Many now agree: it’s imperative that workplaces be both diverse and inclusive. Perhaps the most often-quoted (and definitely most succinct)…
Mar 19, 2021
Recently, New Brunswick temporarily broadened the eligibility for its Skilled Worker Stream through its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP),…
Mar 12, 2021
Many businesses with industrial and commercial equipment rely on foreign workers to provide emergency repair or installation services, both for…
Feb 16, 2021
This publication has been updated as at September 17, 2021. Employers across the country – including the federal government, some…
Jan 13, 2021
On January 2, 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador began accepting expressions of interest under the new Priority Skills NL stream through its…
Dec 10, 2020
The current state of closed Canadian borders and stringent travel restrictions in efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be the…
May 14, 2020
This publication has been updated as of April 23, 2021. Employers that hire and employ temporary foreign workers must comply with many and…
Apr 15, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting more than Canada’s domestic workforce. It’s also disrupting Canadian employers’ access to temporary…
Mar 27, 2020
The COVID-19 novel coronavirus has evolved rapidly, and so have the workplace issues employers are facing – and the questions employers were…
Mar 13, 2020
This publication has been updated as of May 10, 2022. The Prince Edward Island Office of Immigration requires designated employers to file a…
Mar 12, 2020
The havoc that COVID-19 (a.k.a. “novel coronavirus” or SARS-CoV-2) is wreaking around the globe – and around workplaces – is about to…
Aug 8, 2019
This publication has been updated as at January 12, 2022. Canadian provinces are looking to immigration as a solution to labour market…
Jul 2, 2019
Watch and listen to McInnes Cooper immigration lawyers David Nurse and Sarah McInnes as they chart the Global Talent Stream’s Labour Market…
Jun 28, 2019
We updated this publication on May 18, 2023. The Global Talent Stream is a central pillar of Canada’s Global Skills Strategy. Initially…
Jan 31, 2019
We updated this publication on May 18, 2023. There’s no shortage of warnings of a worker shortage in Canada – and the consensus seems to…
Dec 18, 2018
On December 18, 2018, the maximum sentence possible for impaired driving (among other things) will increase as the result of amendments to…
Dec 13, 2018
This publication has been updated as of October 15, 2020. Canada became only the second country in the world to legalize cannabis (or…
Sep 28, 2018
Immigration is one of the key solutions to looming (and current) worker shortages in Canada. But an employer that hires a foreign worker must…
Sep 4, 2018
Immigration is one of the key solutions to the looming (or in some cases, current) worker shortage in Canada. In her article, The Top 5…
Jul 16, 2018
Every parent knows that a lot can happen in 18 months. Many employers agree. The federal government’s extension of employment insurance…
Jun 27, 2018
The legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada is imminent. Employers are feeling the heat to prepare – even as they continue efforts to…
Jun 8, 2018
This publication has been updated as of September 28, 2020. In the last few years, many employers have been focused on preparing for and…
May 24, 2018
We updated this publication on May 18, 2023. The Global Talent Stream is the central pillar of the Government of Canada’s Global Skills…
May 11, 2018
This article has been updated as of January 19, 2022. It can be challenging for employers to fulfill their legal duty to accommodate an…
Apr 26, 2018
The N.S. Court of Appeal has reached two decisions ending one employee’s quest for coverage of the costs of his medical marijuana – at least…
Apr 17, 2018
This publication has been updated as at January 12, 2023. There’s no shortage of media coverage about a doctor shortage in Canada and the…
Apr 2, 2018
Workplace sexual harassment isn’t a new issue, nor is it limited to any one industry or country – but it's one that far more women than men…
Mar 29, 2018
We updated this publication on March 11, 2020. The #metoo and #timesup movements drove workplace sexual harassment to the front and center of…
Jan 25, 2018
Insurers have generally been leery of coverage for medical cannabis in both the health benefit claims and in cost of care claims in the personal…
Jan 18, 2018
We updated this publication on May 18, 2023. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) allows qualified U.S. and Mexican citizens in…
Sep 22, 2017
Canada’s most important trading relationship is – in all likelihood – about to change: the current U.S. administration has put the future…
Sep 21, 2017
This publication has been updated as at January 13, 2022. An increasing number of employees are struggling to meet the challenge of the…
Jul 28, 2017
This publication has been updated as of October 14, 2020. On June 19, 2017, Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the…
Jul 28, 2017
We udpated this publication on June 10, 2022. The rapid rise in ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) principles has increased focus on…
Jul 18, 2017
On July 12, 2017, the Federal Court of Canada made it clear that there are but two ways to avoid a tariff set by the Copyright Board of Canada…
Jul 10, 2017
The legal landscape of cannabis (a.k.a. marihuana, weed, pot …) is changing, both reflecting - and contributing to - more relaxed attitudes…
May 19, 2017
Investigations are a vital - but difficult - part of workplace management. The value of a proper investigation can’t be overstated: it plays a…
Apr 21, 2017
In three years (lightning speed in the law), medically assisted dying went from being illegal to being legal. A great deal has changed, a great…
Apr 20, 2017
On April 13, 2017, Canada’s federal government introduced legislation that, if passed into law, will legalize recreational cannabis in Canada.…
Feb 22, 2017
On January 1, 2022, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program became the permanent Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). Learn more at From Pilot to…
Dec 13, 2016
Employers’ legal duty to accommodate employees seems to most frequently come up in the context of employees with disabilities. But that duty…
Nov 22, 2016
Canada’s most important trading relationship might undergo some change with the results of the 2016 U.S. election. Facilitating cross-border…
Jun 29, 2016
Employers are entitled to mandate dress codes in the workplace, and even to discipline employees who refuse to comply. But a workplace dress…
Apr 15, 2016
On April 14, 2016, Canada’s federal Justice Minister proposed legislation setting out the conditions that a person wishing to undergo…
Mar 29, 2016
We updated this publication on May 17, 2023. Applying for and obtaining a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a critical step in hiring…
Dec 16, 2015
As of December 1, 2015, the new Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) regulations took effect.…
Jul 29, 2015
On July 27, 2015, the Federal Court of Canada decided a lawsuit by medical marijuana program participants against the Federal Government…
Jun 2, 2015
Effective April 22, 2015 the NS Government enacted the NS Missing Persons Act, lowering the threshold for police to get an order to access…
Apr 15, 2015
On April 15, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided the City of Saguenay’s recitation of a religious - though non-denominational – prayer…
Mar 31, 2015
This publication has been updated as at June 24, 2021. Women make up close to half of the employed workforce: in 2019, Canadian women 15…
Mar 25, 2015
On March 3, 2015 Canada’s Privacy Commissioner determined that Health Canada breached privacy laws by mailing letters to over 40,000 Marihuana…
Feb 13, 2015
This publication has been updated as at January 26, 2022. With people spending so many of their waking hours at or connected to work these…
Feb 9, 2015
NOTE: On April 14, 2016, the federal government proposed legislation setting out the conditions that a person wishing to undergo…
Jul 9, 2014
On June 20, 2014 the Federal Government announced a major overhaul of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. With stringent enforcement…
Apr 3, 2014
On March 28, 2014 the Federal Government tabled Bill C-31 to implement the 2014 Federal Budget – including broad authority to impose cash…
Jan 21, 2014
On December 31, 2013, amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and new Ministerial Instructions changing the Federal…
Apr 30, 2013
Note: Effective December 31, 2013, the Federal Government made additional changes to the Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Click here to…
Jan 8, 2013
On November 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) unanimously ruled a B.C. public school system’s failure to provide adequate and…
Oct 22, 2012
Mr. Cole was a high school teacher with an employer owned and issued laptop computer. He also used it for incidental personal purposes, which…
May 6, 2011
In March 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that an employee had a limited expectation of privacy in the contents of a work computer. The…
Mar 6, 2011
In the midst of a sea of change, the Federal Government has enacted Regulatory changes significantly impacting employers who hire foreign…
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