Edmonton Employment Law

Yesterday, a group calling itself the "Free Alberta Strategy Group" called on the Premier of Alberta to make Alberta a "Sovereign Jurisdiction Within Canada".  Its founders include former MLA Rob Anderson, and the site indicates that it has been endorsed by four current UCP MLAs. Apparently, the current Speaker of the House also attended the press conference - a move drawing criticism on the basis that it violated the neutrality required of the position. I won't link the FASG's site, because I don't want to support their legitimacy through SEO algorithms. Google it if you want. But because of its significant links to sitting legislators, it's not something that can be easily dismissed as a wingnut internet manifesto. The FASG raises the same old Western grievances about a hostile Federal government and unfair equalization formula, claiming that Ottawa has "fundamentally breached its constitutional agreement with Alberta", giving Alberta th...

I made an entry about workplace vaccine mandates in December, and another about Alberta's vaccine cards last month. A lot has changed since then, so it's worth revisiting. For starters, I continue to stand by my analysis from December, essentially in its entirety: To put it simply, a business is entitled to bar entry to anyone on the basis of vaccination status, subject only to narrow human rights obligations, minimal privacy obligations, and pre-existing contractual obligations (noting that contracts can be breached, but damages may result). Human rights commissions have started releasing positions that support this narrow view of the obligation: People who are unvaccinated by choice (as distinct from, say, religious or medical requirements) are not entitled to discrimination protection on that basis. The privacy question has evolved a little bit. I remain skeptical of the joint statement of the Privacy Commissioners from several months ago, but to whatever extent businesses m...