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A continuation in our series for Canadian employers addressing the U.S. tariff effect. For more information, check out BLG's Tariffs and Trade Resource Centre. The recent imposition of tariffs, and the resulting “tariff uncertainty”, is posing real and immediate challenges to employers and unions in industries that rely on the exportation of their goods, products and materials, such as automotive, manufacturing, steel, aluminum, agriculture and forestry. At least for the…

On April 15, 2025, the federal government announced three new measures to aid Canadian businesses and entities affected by the ongoing tariff dispute with the U.S. These measures are: conditional remissions on CUSMA-compliant auto imports; temporary tariff relief on goods for critical industries; and a loan program for large businesses. Remissions for automakers The government intends to implement a performance-based duty remission framework for automakers. The measure will allow Canadian…

On April 20, 2024, the Government of Canada issued a Notice pursuant to section 46 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) mandating that certain entities report information on the quantities and types of plastics that they manufacture, import, produce and place on the Canadian market. Reporting requirements are being rolled out in three phases with the first reporting due by Sept. 29, 2025. Those caught by the reporting…

On March 27, 2025, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) published for comment Phase 5 of its Rule Consolidation Project (the Proposals) relating to the consolidation of the two sets of rules currently applicable to investment dealers (IDPC Rules) and mutual fund dealers (MFD Rules) into one. Our assessment is that the Proposals – which address significant differences between the IDPC Rules and MFD Rules that could have potential material impacts…

On March 4, 2025, the United States imposed by Executive Order a 25 per cent tariff on the importation of nearly all Canadian-origin goods (10 per cent on certain energy-related exports). The tariffs were implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Days later, the United States announced that goods imported from Canada that qualify for duty-free preferential treatment under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) would be exempted from…

This is a continuation in our U.S. tariff effect series, a national analysis of the impact of tariffs on Canadian employers. For more information, check out BLG’s Tariffs and Trade Resource Centre. Over the past couple of months, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has announced a series of temporary, expanded employment insurance (EI) measures. These are meant to assist employers experiencing a decline in business activity connected to the…

As outlined in our December 2024 article, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) has proposed updates to its Rules of Procedure as part of an ongoing effort to reduce delays and address its backlog of cases. The stated intent of the proposed changes is to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and shorten the average lifecycle of cases—while continuing to promote fair and timely resolution of human rights claims. The HRTO…

In a significant development for Canadian capital markets, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have introduced a trio of blanket orders that ease certain prospectus and disclosure requirements. These changes are designed to reduce the financial and administrative burden associated with going public in Canada, enhance capital raising flexibility for issuers that have recently completed an initial public offering (IPO), and better facilitate exempt market capital raising. These changes provide welcome…

Le 23 avril 2025, le gouvernement du Québec a publié dans la Gazette officielle du Québec le nouveau projet de Règlement sur les paiements et le règlement rapide des différends en matière de travaux de construction1 (le « Projet de règlement »). Ce dernier fait suite au Projet pilote visant à faciliter le paiement aux entreprises parties à des contrats publics de travaux de construction ainsi qu’aux sous-contrats qui y sont liés2…

On March 27, 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Mr. Furtado’s application for leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision, where the  Court of Appeal upheld the denial of coverage under a Directors and Officers liability policy as Mr. Furtado failed to meet a condition precedent under the claims-made and reported policy. Key facts Mr. Furtado, the directing mind of Go-To Developments ("Go-To"), sought coverage under a…

On April 16, 2025, the Government of Ontario announced the most significant unilateral removal of provincial trade barriers in Canada’s history through Bill 2, Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act (Bill 2). In 2023, trade between Ontario and its provincial and territorial counterparts totalled $326 billion. Statistics Canada estimates that impediments to interprovincial trade are equivalent to a 7 per cent ad valorem tariff on goods. The Government…