Proud to Support Halifax Pride Festival

Whether you’re entering the Canadian market by setting up a subsidiary or a branch office, you’ll need to staff your new operations up. And…

Many international companies set up shop in Canada through branch offices or subsidiaries. Many of these companies are looking to staff up their…

Francophone immigration is a key and permanent priority for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). On January 16, 2024, IRCC…

Canada’s labour and skills shortage continues – and so does the immigration solution. Canada’s ambitious immigration plan targets 485,000…

Canada’s first Tech Talent Strategy aims to aggressively attract tech talent to “fuel innovation and drive emerging technologies forward”.…

Many Canadian employers continue to be challenged not only with hiring the right number of people, but with finding candidates with the right…

Immigration continues to play a key role in addressing Canada’s labour and skills shortage. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada…

Updated Feburary 9, 2024. On January 1, 2023, the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act and accompanying…

Many Canadian employers continue to be challenged not only with hiring the right number of people, but with finding candidates with the right…

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) began as a pilot program in 2017, and became a permanent federal immigration program in 2022. While the…

Climate migrants aren’t yet arriving on Canadian shores en masse - but the growing number of extreme weather events in Canada and around the…

We updated this publication on August 10, 2023. Canada’s Express Entry system, introduced in 2015, has been a successful and well-received…

We updated this publication on March 1, 2023. On January 1, 2022, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program became the permanent Atlantic…

The COVID-19 pandemic changed many aspects of the workplace for good – but pre-pandemic labour shortages isn’t one of them. While the…

As part of the Government of Canada’s overall response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)…

On October 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Northern Regional Health Authority v. Horrocks, clarified that labour arbitrators have…

Canadian entities regularly contract with foreign companies to provide services in Canada. To complete its obligations under the contract, the…

Updated February 9, 2024. It’s now widely accepted: it’s imperative that workplaces be both diverse and inclusive. Perhaps the most oft…

Recently, New Brunswick temporarily broadened the eligibility for its Skilled Worker Stream through its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP),…

Many businesses with industrial and commercial equipment rely on foreign workers to provide emergency repair or installation services, both for…

This publication has been updated as at September 17, 2021. Employers across the country – including the federal government, some…

On January 2, 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador began accepting expressions of interest under the new Priority Skills NL stream through its…

The current state of closed Canadian borders and stringent travel restrictions in efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be the…

This publication has been updated as of April 23, 2021. Employers that hire and employ temporary foreign workers must comply with many and…

The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting more than Canada’s domestic workforce. It’s also disrupting Canadian employers’ access to temporary…

The COVID-19 novel coronavirus has evolved rapidly, and so have the workplace issues employers are facing – and the questions employers were…

This publication has been updated as of May 10, 2022. The Prince Edward Island Office of Immigration requires designated employers to file a…

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…

Updated January 12, 2023. Canadian provinces are looking to immigration as a solution to labour market shortages, and the health sector is no…

Watch and listen to McInnes Cooper immigration lawyers David Nurse and Sarah McInnes as they chart the Global Talent Stream’s Labour Market…

We updated this publication on May 18, 2023. The Global Talent Stream is a central pillar of Canada’s Global Skills Strategy. Initially…

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…

On December 18, 2018, the maximum sentence possible for impaired driving (among other things) will increase as the result of amendments to…

This publication has been updated as of October 15, 2020. Canada became only the second country in the world to legalize cannabis (or…

Immigration is one of the key solutions to looming (and current) worker shortages in Canada. But an employer that hires a foreign worker must…

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…

Every parent knows that a lot can happen in 18 months. Many employers agree. The federal government’s extension of employment insurance…

The legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada is imminent. Employers are feeling the heat to prepare – even as they continue efforts to…

This publication has been updated as of September 28, 2020. In the last few years, many employers have been focused on preparing for and…

We updated this publication on May 18, 2023. The Global Talent Stream is the central pillar of the Government of Canada’s Global Skills…

This article has been updated as of January 19, 2022. It can be challenging for employers to fulfill their legal duty to accommodate an…

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…

Updated January 12, 2023. There’s no shortage of media coverage about a doctor shortage in Canada and the resulting impact on Canada’s…

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…

We updated this publication on March 11, 2020. The #metoo and #timesup movements drove workplace sexual harassment to the front and center of…

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…

We updated this publication on May 18, 2023. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) allows qualified U.S. and Mexican citizens in…

Canada’s most important trading relationship is – in all likelihood – about to change: the current U.S. administration has put the future…

Updated February 13, 2024 An increasing number of employees are struggling to meet the challenge of the competing demands of their employers…

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…

We udpated this publication on June 10, 2022.  The rapid rise in ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) principles has increased focus on…

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…

The legal landscape of cannabis (a.k.a. marihuana, weed, pot …) is changing, both reflecting - and contributing to - more relaxed attitudes…

Investigations are a vital - but difficult - part of workplace management. The value of a proper investigation can’t be overstated: it plays a…

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…

On April 13, 2017, Canada’s federal government introduced legislation that, if passed into law, will legalize recreational cannabis in Canada.…

On January 1, 2022, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program became the permanent Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). Learn more at From Pilot to…

Employers’ legal duty to accommodate employees seems to most frequently come up in the context of employees with disabilities. But that duty…

Canada’s most important trading relationship might undergo some change with the results of the 2016 U.S. election. Facilitating cross-border…

Employers are entitled to mandate dress codes in the workplace, and even to discipline employees who refuse to comply. But a workplace dress…

On April 14, 2016, Canada’s federal Justice Minister proposed legislation setting out the conditions that a person wishing to undergo…

We updated this publication on May 17, 2023. Applying for and obtaining a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a critical step in hiring…

As of December 1, 2015, the new Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) regulations took effect.…

On July 27, 2015, the Federal Court of Canada decided a lawsuit by medical marijuana program participants against the Federal Government…

Effective April 22, 2015 the NS Government enacted the NS Missing Persons Act, lowering the threshold for police to get an order to access…

On April 15, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided the City of Saguenay’s recitation of a religious - though non-denominational – prayer…

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…

On March 3, 2015 Canada’s Privacy Commissioner determined that Health Canada breached privacy laws by mailing letters to over 40,000 Marihuana…

Updated January 26, 2022. With people spending so many of their waking hours at or connected to work these days, romantic relationships…

NOTE: On April 14, 2016, the federal government proposed legislation setting out the conditions that a person wishing to undergo…

On June 20, 2014 the Federal Government announced a major overhaul of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. With stringent enforcement…

On March 28, 2014 the Federal Government tabled Bill C-31 to implement the 2014 Federal Budget – including broad authority to impose cash…

On December 31, 2013, amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and new Ministerial Instructions changing the Federal…

Note: Effective December 31, 2013, the Federal Government made additional changes to the Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Click here to…

On November 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) unanimously ruled a B.C. public school system’s failure to provide adequate and…

Mr. Cole was a high school teacher with an employer owned and issued laptop computer.  He also used it for incidental personal purposes, which…

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…

In the midst of a sea of change, the Federal Government has enacted Regulatory changes significantly impacting employers who hire foreign…