LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Emergency Response

Aug 31: New Brunswick published a multi-year wildfire management plan, building upon lessons learned during the devastating 2025 wildfire season. To address flaws in staffing, coordination, resources, and communication, the government has converted 74 seasonal forest ranger positions into year-round roles, purchased new firefighting equipment, and funded community wildfire resiliency plans. Future actions will focus on public education, support for responders, and strengthened collaboration to build resilience against wildfire threats.

Action Point: Find out how to implement a Wildfire Smoke Protection Game Plan to guard your workers against smoke exposure, both indoors and outdoors.

New Laws

Aug 11: New Brunswick will receive nearly $10 million from the federal Foreign Credential Recognition Program to reduce barriers to credential recognition and accelerate labour market integration for internationally trained professionals and tradespeople. The money will be distributed through three branches of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour—WorkingNB, post-secondary relations, and Skilled Trades NB—with a focus on professionals in healthcare, engineering, skilled trades, and education.

New Laws

Aug 11: The City of Moncton and the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) are jointly investing over $25 million to expand the sewer and stormwater infrastructure needed to build up to 1,300 new homes in the city. The section of road affected by the underground works will be rebuilt and widened to four lanes, including an integrated multi-purpose trail for active transportation.

Industry Challenges

Aug 10: The federal government is offering oyster harvesters in New Brunswick a one-time payment of $40,000 for voluntarily agreeing to the permanent retirement of their wild oyster licences and permits. The new Oyster Licence Retirement Grant Program is designed to ease pressure on wild oyster stocks which have diminished by the spread of the diseases MSX and Dermo.

Workplace Violence

Sep 11: New Brunswick ended public consultations on proposed new regulations allowing parents, guardians, and caregivers of a person between 16 and 18 years of age to disclose private personal information about a spouse, partner, or other person who poses a threat of domestic or intimate partner violence to government authorities where the disclosure is necessary to prevent violence.

Action Point: Domestic and intimate partner violence becomes an OHS compliance issue when it happens at the victim’s workplace. Find out how to implement an effective Workplace Domestic Violence Prevention Plan to protect your own workers.

Environmental

Aug 4: The Climate Change Fund will invest nearly $64 million in 72 environmental projects across New Brunswick in the upcoming year. The package includes more than $6 million for three projects to strengthen the province's electric vehicle charging network and expand charging infrastructure, including $5 million to add 16 new fast chargers to the eCharge network.

Environmental

Sep 18: Public consultations will close on proposed amendments to Clean Air Act regulations establishing new maximum permissible air pollutant concentration levels for more than 60 pollutants. The new permissible concentration levels will take effect as of January 1, 2032.

Environmental

Aug 26: New Brunswick launched a public review on whether the province’s moratorium on natural gas development should remain in place. The review will focus on whether such a moratorium is justified under today’s science, technology, market, and regulatory best practices, especially given the “significant economic pressures” the province is facing.

CASES

Powered Mobile Equipment: History of Lax Enforcement Undermines Forklift Driver Safety Suspension

Did a senior Shipper Loader Operator with almost 40 years of excellent service deserve to be suspended for five days for carelessly backing his front-end loader of a truck? Based on video footage and witness testimony, the New Brunswick arbitrator ruled that the accident and resulting $23,000 in property damage was the result of the Operator’s negligence in not checking his exterior mirrors. But while discipline for negligence was appropriate—especially given the Operator’s failure to fully accept the blame for what happened—the penalty was too harsh given the company’s history of not meting out any discipline for similar safety incidents. Result: The arbitrator reduced the penalty from a five-day suspension to a written warning [United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 683, on Behalf of Dale Barton v JD Irving Ltd (Grand Lake Timber), 2026 CanLII 78802 (NB LA), July 27, 2026].

Action Point: In addition to compromising a potential due diligence defence, a history of failing to enforce safety rules undermines your ability to impose discipline for future violations. Find out how to use progressive discipline effectively to enforce your workplace health and safety rules.