It’s still early, but an HR leader and an employment lawyer look at what could lie ahead on the federal labour landscape
In the wake of recent federal byelections that handed Prime Minister Mark Carney a narrow Liberal majority, HR leaders may be wondering what this new political reality could mean for federal labour and employment law.
Employment lawyer David Whitten of Whitten and Lublin LLP says early federal moves raise concerns about the broader environment in which employers operate. “My headline is I don't think it bodes well for government spending or for employment in Canada,” he says, suggesting that it translates into questions about the cost of terminations, the availability of talent, and the stability of key government labour programs.
Whitten views the Carney government as largely extending its predecessor’s approach. “What we've seen so far is more of the same under Carney as what we saw under Trudeau, and what I mean by that is just giving money away in an attempt to garner votes,” he says.
As an example, he points to the government’s pilot project for employment insurance (EI) implemented in March 2025 that eliminated the one-week waiting period after the end of receiving severance pay. “Under this pilot program, the government eliminated the waiting period and they don't account for any severance payments, that means you can be terminated and immediately start collecting EI even if you're receiving a severance from your employer,” he says. “So it...
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