![Global rules on foreign direct investment](https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/-/media/images/nrf/nrfweb/knowledge/publications/us_24355_legal-update--fdi-alert.jpeg?w=265&revision=a5124a65-abf9-40e4-8e96-9df39ffdb212&revision=5250068427347387904&hash=96B456347C3246E5649838DF281C5F5D)
Publication
Global rules on foreign direct investment (FDI)
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Author:
Canada | Publication | April 2021
The vaccine rollout is quickly expanding in BC as we enter Phase 3 of the province’s immunization plan. Similar to other provinces across Canada, in an effort to promote immunization, the BC provincial government has amended the BC Employment Standards Regulation (the Regulations) to include time off for workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
BC employment standards legislation now provides for job-protected, unpaid leave for all part-time and full-time workers to (1) be vaccinated against COVID-19; or (2) assist a dependant who is being vaccinated against COVID-19. A dependent may include a person who is a member of the employee’s immediate family or is considered by the employee to be like a close relative, is in need of care, and is under the day-to-day care and control of the employee.
There is no prescribed amount of time in which an employee is entitled to take off from work for vaccination leave. Accordingly, employees are entitled to take the amount of time off work that is necessary to be vaccinated or assist a dependent to be vaccinated.
While the new vaccine leave is currently unpaid, the provincial government is exploring options to provide workers with paid vaccination leave and is in the process of consulting with the BC business community and labour organizations who have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for further updates on the potential implementation of paid vaccination leave.
With case numbers in BC on the rise due to variants, the provincial government has also expanded the protections afforded by statutory COVID-19-related leave to more individuals. The recent amendments to the Regulations expand COVID-19-related leave to include the following circumstances:
Publication
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
Publication
On February 2, 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union confirmed that the Committee of Permanent Representatives had signed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Regulation, referred to as the AI Act. Approval by the EU Parliament followed on 13 March 2024, and the AI Act is likely to appear in the EU’s Official Journal around May 2024. The AI Act aims to establish a stringent legal framework governing the development, marketing, and utilisation of artificial intelligence within the region, thereby marking a significant advancement in the regulation of this burgeoning domain.
Publication
The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Regulation, commonly referred to as the AI Act, is expected to come into force during the summer of 2024 (the AI Act). The AI Act will be the first comprehensive legal framework for the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI), and is intended to ensure that AI systems developed and used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2023