LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Transportation Safety

Jun 12: Bill 43 updating the rules governing commercial signage on New Brunswick highways received Royal Assent but hasn’t yet taken effect. The amendments include redefining “advertisements” as “commercial signs,” increasing penalties for illegal signage, extending the compliance period to 30 days from 10, and introducing accountability for landowners regarding offences on their property.

Emergency Response

Jun 8: New Brunswick launched an enhanced Wildfire Dashboard providing consolidated data from the wildfire management branch to provide timely updates as fires occur across the province. The government also made improvements to its Fire Watch website enabling residents to access up-to-date details about current wildfire incidents.

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

Seasonal Safety

Jun 5: New Brunswick launched a new tick bite tracking tool to raise awareness of areas in the province that are at higher risk for blacklegged tick bites.  The new tracker complements the government’s ongoing tick surveillance efforts, allowing people to view reported tick bite information and risk areas categorized by health zone.

Action Point: Find out how to protect outdoor workers from tick bites that can cause Lyme disease and other illnesses.

Mental Stress

July 13: July 13 is the deadline to apply to WorkSafeNB for Psychological Health and Safety (PHS) Grants to support evidence-based initiatives that promote workplace psychological health and safety, especially projects that provide services to New Brunswick first responders, emergency health care workers, and others dealing with trauma on the job or at risk of traumatic psychological injuries (TPIs).

Industry Challenges

Jun 12: New Brunswick implemented two new programs to help oyster producers affected by the outbreak of the MSX (multinucleate sphere unknown) and dermo diseases: i. Employee Retention Support Fund of up to $8 million over three years to help producers retain skilled workers and provide biosecurity training; and ii. Shellfish Quality Intervention Fund of up to $3.5 million for inventory losses, site cleanup, and operational costs. Oyster production generated $35.7 million in farm gate value in 2024 and supports about 650 seasonal jobs across the province.

Industry Challenges

Jun 12: The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) announced an investment of up to $4.6 million in non-repayable support over three years to help New Brunswick oyster producers affected by MSX and Dermo diseases. The money will be distributed by the Community Business Development Corporation Kent (CBDC Kent), which provides entrepreneurs living in rural communities access to capital and other business resources.

Training

May 21: The new Canada–New Brunswick Workforce Tariff Response program will provide $13.8 million over three years to support workers in the softwood lumber, mining, construction, transportation and other sectors affected by tariffs. To be distributed by WorkingNB, the money will go to unemployed workers to gain new skills for in-demand jobs, workers whose employers are participating in Work-Sharing agreements providing for upskilling or retraining, and employed workers seeking new skills to improve their resiliency within companies directly affected by tariffs.

Training

Jun 30: New Brunswick’s Northern Hardwood Research Institute will receive $483,791 in funding under the new Canada-New Brunswick Workforce Tariff Response agreement to develop courses, an online training platform, and other resources to support forestry workers affected by tariffs.

Infectious Illness

Jun 12: Bill 26 providing employees with more than 90 continuous service unpaid long-term illness and injury leave of up to 27 weeks during any 52-week period received Royal Assent. Employees must notify the employer “without delay” of the anticipated leave start date and duration. Leave must be taken in periods of at least one week and employers may require a certificate of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, or midwife certifying that the employee is incapable of working due to illness or injury.

New Laws

Jun 12: Royal Assent for (Bill 33) making it easier for out-of-province tradespeople to work in New Brunswick via automatic recognition of certificates of qualification or equivalency from other provincial and territorial apprenticeship authorities. It also eliminates the requirement for certified tradespersons from other provinces to apply for an equivalent certificate and pay the associated $150 fee, as well as the fees for registration ($25) and prior learning assessment ($100) fees charged to apprentices registered in Canadian jurisdictions outside New Brunswick.

Workplace Violence

Jun 12: Legislation (Bill 27) making it easier for victims of intimate partner violence to sue for money damages received Royal Assent. There’s no longer a statute of limitations to sue for non-sexual harm occurring in an intimate personal relationship or situation where a person is financially, physically, or emotionally dependent on the person who harms them.

Action Point: Intimate partner violence becomes an OHS compliance issue when it happens at the victim’s workplace. Bottom Line: Simply having a workplace violence prevention plan isn’t enough. You also need to incorporate protections against workplace domestic violence into the prevention plan. Find out how to implement an effective Workplace Domestic Violence Prevention Plan to protect your own workers.

Workers’ Compensation

Jun 22: Newly effective WorkSafeNB Policy 21-109 revises the rules the agency applies to determine whether infectious diseases are work-related for purposes of workers’ comp coverage. To prove an infectious disease arose out of and in the course of employment, evidence must show that, in a particular case, the risk of contracting the infectious disease through the employment is greater than the risk associated with contracting the infectious disease through the worker’s day-to-day living.

Workers’ Compensation

Jun 15: WorkSafeNB launched public consultations on proposed improvements to the New Brunswick workers’ compensation system. Among other things, the agency is considering consolidating the various pieces of legislation impacting workers’ comp into a single Act to improve clarity and accessibility. Deadline to comment: July 31.

Environmental

Jun 12: Bill 41 enabling local governments in New Brunswick to establish for-profit corporations to generate clean energy and profit from the sale of renewable energy received Royal Assent. The legislation makes it easier for local governments to construct, own, and operate a generation facility within their boundary for their own purpose, or sell the electricity to a consumer or a distribution utility. This includes renewable energy projects such as solar, wind, and hydro.

CASES

There are no cases to report on this month.