May 14, 2026
Third parties almost never get a seat at the arbitration table, but every so often an employee insists on weighing in against their own union — and is sometimes granted standing to speak or be represented, usually with respect to interests that may be against their union. However, the right to speak may (or may not) come with an obligation to pay arbitration costs.
May 13, 2026
In a case that has now twice been overturned, the Federal Court has remitted the matter of an individual’s eligibility for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) back to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for a third review.
May 13, 2026
Ontario’s highest court has turned back a challenge by more than 400 current and former health care workers who were disciplined or dismissed because of their refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The workers were challenging the dismissal of their claim by an Ontario Superior Court judge, who said it was both an abuse of process and disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
May 13, 2026
Toronto-based employment and workplace human rights law firm Rubin & Co. LLP has begun operating under its new name. The firm succeeds Rubin Thomlinson LLP, which ceased operating under that name on April 30 after more than 20 years in practice.
May 13, 2026
The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed a federal government appeal challenging employment insurance (EI) benefits for a worker who lost his job after being incarcerated, ruling that a claimant’s inability to fulfill a condition of employment is not, by itself, sufficient to disentitle them to EI benefits.
May 13, 2026
The vast majority of mediations in Ontario continue to take place virtually. Convenient and often cost-effective, virtual mediation is clearly here to stay — even if I personally would welcome a greater return to in-person mediations (more on that in an upcoming article). It is therefore worth thinking carefully about how virtual mediations can be structured to maximize effectiveness.
May 12, 2026
Ontario nurses have launched a constitutional challenge of a decades-old statute that prohibits them from taking job action. The lawsuit from the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), which represents more than 68,000 nurses and health care professionals, aims to strike down the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act (HLDAA).
May 11, 2026
National Interest Waivers to obtain a green card (permanent residence) in the U.S. are getting a lot of attention these days. With large backlogs creating long waits for some people applying for green cards, applying with a request for a National Interest Waiver of the usual labor market testing requirement to complete the process can make green card processing much quicker — if you qualify.
May 11, 2026
Three and a half years ago, I wrote in this column about the dangers of forcing treatment on people with serious mental health issues as a condition of keeping them living in the community.
May 08, 2026
Canada has committed $7 million to eight international migration initiatives in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, while also announcing five new pledges aimed at strengthening global migration management systems at the United Nations’ International Migration Review Forum.