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COVID-19

  • Image: "Stop school closure OLB" by Backbone Campaign is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
As Mothers’ day 2021 approached, schools closed in Alberta and Ontario and parts of Manitoba. At the time of writing, Alberta’s schools had reopened, but schools in Ontario and parts of Manitoba remained closed. B.C. schools closed briefly in March, 2020,...

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  • Image: "File:COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population.png" by Traut is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Some Canadian provinces, including B.C., are implementing travel restrictions amid fears of covid-19. The federal government's mandatory testing and hotel quarantining for travelers entering Canada is currently being challenged in the courts.  In January, 2021, after seeking legal advice, B.C. premier John Horgan...

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  • Image: "Doctor in protective suit and face mask holding syringe" by focusonmore.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0
The media informs us of increasing numbers of Canadians who are receiving COVID-19 vaccines. Others are not yet eligible or decline to do so.   There are no indications that these vaccines will be mandatory. Can an employer require its employees to receive...

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  • Image: "Door of a bankrupt business locked with chain and padlock. Global recession due to coronavirus lockdown" by Ivan Radic is licensed under CC BY 2.0
It’s an understatement to say the economy is currently bleak.   Anyone with employment is hanging onto it for dear life. Dismissed employees who are looking for new work face a formidable task. People are told to “stay home”. Many businesses have effectively...

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  • Image: "Anti-cyber bullying fix - meet the troll" by FixersUK is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
It is our neighbors to the South who have the reputation for being litigious. Here in Canada, we regard ourselves as more friendly. More reasonable. More able to resolve disputes without necessarily resorting to full litigation. Is the COVID-19 pandemic moving us...

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  • Image: "Study" by Tim Swinson | http://timswinson.com is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Clearly, some members of society are being left behind amid responses to  corona virus. Women, the disabled and the impoverished are particularly affected. Between March and June, schools in B.C. and Alberta abruptly closed. Alberta’s government is closing middle and high schools again...

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Alberta’s government recently enacted substantial amendments to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code (ESC), through the Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, 2020.   The stated purpose was to “save employers time and money.” Section 63 of the ESC now deems layoffs over 90...

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On July 27, 2020,  Bill C-20, An Act respecting further COVID-19 measures, received royal assent. This legislation amends the Income Tax Act (Canada) to extend and expand the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) amid COVID-19.  It also released a backgrounder and...

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Many employees off work amid COVID-19 are wondering about their rights. Employers who have curtailed operations are wondering what liabilities may be lurking if upon resuming normal operations they return some but not all employees to work. When Can Employers Lay off...

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  • Photo: "6 feet" by artnoose is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Amid fears over corona virus and declarations of emergency, many employers moved away from physical workplaces, toward either requiring employees to work remotely from home, or allowing employees to take leaves of absence. British Columbia’s state of emergency has now been...

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