LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Emergency Response

Apr 24: The 2026 Newfoundland and Labrador Budget earmarks over $7 million in new funding for equipment, supplies, staffing, volunteer firefighter training, and emergency preparedness resources, including $2.9 million for P25 radios, $1.7 million for 3,400 sets of wildland coveralls, and $770,000 for four regionally-stationed enclosed trailers stocked with equipment and PPE.

Action Point: With the wildfire season officially underway, it’s important to implement a Wildfire Smoke Protection Game Plan to guard your workers against smoke exposure, both indoors and outdoors.

Industry Challenges

Apr 14: Newfoundland and Labrador released details on its new streamlined process for fish processing licensing in the province, including an updated Fish Processing Licence application and a new Conditional Processing Facility application. Under the new simplified process, applicants will no longer have to identify their sources of raw materials.

Accessibility

May 4: From now through May 29, Newfoundland nonprofit organizations, municipalities, local service districts, and Indigenous organizations can apply for accessibility grants of up to $25,000 per project for initiatives to build capacity, offer programs or services, and promote inclusion of disabled persons beyond physical infrastructure.

Action Point: Find out how accessibility laws affect your OHS program.

New Laws

June 12: June 12 is the deadline to apply for 2026 Job Creation Partnerships (JCP) funding for Newfoundland community-based, not-for-profit projects that provide Employment Insurance (EI) eligible individuals with opportunities to gain work experience and improve their employment prospects.

Workers’ Compensation

Apr 27: Implementing revised Path 2 of the PRIME Program is a priority listed in WorkplaceNL’s new 2026-28 Strategic Plan . Launched in 2023, Path 1 offers workers’ comp refunds to small employers. Path 2 covers large employers. Under the new rules, they’ll have to implement a 15-element OHS best practices program to qualify for PRIME refunds.

Environmental

Apr 2: Bill 8 amending the Wild Life Act by increasing the maximum fine for obstructing a wildlife officer to $25,000 passed Third Reading. Fines for big-game penalties will also go from $1,000 to $5,000, for a first conviction, to $2,000 to $25,000. A second conviction will result in fines of between $6,000 and $25,000, as opposed to $3,000 and $10,000 under previous rules.

CASES

Workplace Harassment: Brewery Worker’s Sex Discrimination Claim Lacks Validity

An assistant manager at a brewery claimed her former company assigned her end-of-shift closing duties that it didn’t ask male workers in the same position to do, such as cleaning washrooms, and then scolded for not performing them. The employer denied the charges, insisting that it applied the same closing checklist to all employees regardless of sex. The Newfoundland Human Rights Commission agreed and dismissed the manager’s sex discrimination and harassment complaint without a trial [Osmond v Home Beverage & Specialties Inc. (Brewery Lan), 2026 CanLII 27654 (NL HRC), March 30, 2026].

Action Point: To deal effectively with harassment, you need to know when it’s actually taking place at your workplace. Don’t assume workers will tell you that they’re being sexually harassed like the flight attendant in this case did. Use the OHS Insider Assessment Questionnaire template to uncover hidden harassment, bullying, and stalking problems at your workplace.