
Publication
Trademark tussles just got spicier: Canada now offers costs awards
Costs awards in trademark opposition proceedings have been long anticipated in Canada.
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Canada | Publication | March 25, 2024
On March 21, Ontario’s Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 received royal assent. As with previous “Working for Workers” legislation, Bill 149 amends several workplace law statutes in an omnibus format. The statutes amended by Bill 149 are:
Relative to omnibus workplace legislation in recent years, the changes made to these statutes are relatively minor. Many of the changes simply expand the government’s regulation-making authority without introducing any new rules at present.
The changes to the ESA are noteworthy in that they have broad application to employers in the province:
Employers will also be required to retain copies of their publicly advertised job postings for three years after access to the posting by the general public is removed.
The three new job posting requirements will be subject to rules to be prescribed by regulation. They are unlikely to come into force until those regulations are developed.
The new rules applicable to job postings are by far the most impactful changes to the ESA, though their in-force date is uncertain. While the precise scope of these new rules remains to be determined by regulation, it is likely Ontario employers will soon need to revisit their recruitment strategies and documentation for compensation disclosure, AI use and requirements for Canadian experience. This exercise may raise difficult questions, such as:
One question that may arise is whether the obligation to disclose compensation information might, inadvertently, run afoul of the new federal Competition Act prohibition on wage-fixing arrangements among employers. We wrote about this new prohibition in our update “No-poach, no problem: Competition Bureau releases enforcement guidelines for wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements.”
At present, such a risk seems remote. The prohibition on wage-fixing applies to an agreement or arrangement between employers regarding wages or terms and conditions of employment. Simply posting compensation information is not an agreement or arrangement, particularly where doing so is required by law.
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Costs awards in trademark opposition proceedings have been long anticipated in Canada.
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On April 1, after more than a year of consultation, research and consideration, Ontario’s Civil Rules Review (CRR) working group released its proposed reforms to the Rules of Civil Procedure – the rulebook that governs litigation in the province.
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Canada’s 45th general election will take place on April 28. Businesses and non-profits that are considering engaging in the political process during this time must know the law and understand how to navigate the rules and restrictions imposed by the Canada Elections Act (CEA).
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