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Special thanks to our articling student Rana Aly for contributing to this update.

Quebec’s multi‑year modernization of its occupational health and safety (OHS) system reached full implementation in late 2025. There are permanent prevention and participation mechanisms under the Act to Modernize the Occupational Health and Safety Regime (AMOHSR) and its accompanying regulation (Regulation Respecting Prevention and Participation Mechanisms in an Establishment) now in force. This represents a significant shift in Quebec occupational health and safety law.

Employers must now comply with the new requirements, if they have not already done so.

Below is an overview of the new requirements Quebec employers must be aware of:

1. Foundational Changes to Quebec’s Prevention Framework

The OHS overhaul stems from major reforms introduced by Bill 59 in 2021, with staggered implementation over several years. The permanent regime, effective October 1, 2025, replaces temporary interim mechanisms that applied during the transition period.

Key features of the new framework include:

  • A shift to mandatory prevention planning, scaled by workforce size;
  • Stronger worker participation structures;
  • An expectation of continuous improvement; and
  • New training obligations for worker representatives.

The result is a harmonized and prevention‑first model that applies across industries, regardless of risk profile.

Continue Reading Modernizing Quebec’s Occupational Health and Safety Regime: Key Employer Obligations in 2026

Join us for our 2026 Labour & Employment Webinar on February 4, where we’ll unpack the most significant developments shaping workplace law in Canada. This year brings critical updates that every employer needs to understand, from evolving termination clauses and new protections for gig workers to navigating new employment standards laws and creative immigration strategies…

As we wrap up 2025 and look forward to 2026, here are 10 key developments Canadian employers should track:

1. Termination Clause Update

In Ontario, there continues to be judicial scrutiny of employment contract termination clauses, particularly the use of the phrase “at any time”.

The Dufault case maintains precedential value. Please see our post here for more discussion on the case here and for more discussion on the issues with the use of the phrase “at any time”.

However, the recently decided Ontario Superior Court decision, Li v. Wayfair Canada Inc., upheld a termination clause that limited the employee’s entitlements to Employment Standards Act, 2000 minimums. The termination provision in question included “at any time” language which the court determined does not automatically render a termination provision non-compliant with the ESA as long as the provision is compliant when read as a whole.

In Bertsch v. Datastealth Inc. the Court of Appeal provided support for employers when it upheld a trial level decision which indicates that termination provisions can be enforced if they are clear and unambiguous, compliant with employment standards law and exclude common law entitlements.

2. Regulation of Gig Workers

With the introduction of the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, Ontario joined British Columbia by introducing legislation regulating the gig economy. The Act provides several entitlements to employees in the gig economy including a right to minimum wage, amounts earned, and a recurring pay period and pay day. Beyond those entitlements, the Act also provides a right to information.

For more information about the requirements, please see our post here.

Continue Reading Looking Forward to 2026: Top 10 Canadian Labour & Employment Law Developments of 2025