LAWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Industry Challenges

Jun 12: With Northern Cod science indicating that the stock is in the healthy zone for the first time since the 1992 moratorium, the federal government expanded the 2026 Northern cod Total Annual Catch (TAC) quota from 38,000 to 59,00 tonnes. The TAC for capelin will remain at 14,533 tonnes.

Industry Challenges

Jun 12: In addition to raising the TAC quota by 55% in 2026, the federal government is adjusting the allocation of Northern cod shares: i. Inshore fleet: 70% of the TAC, 41,300 tonnes, up from 30,400 tonnes in 2025; ii. Offshore and Midshore fleet: 20% of the TAC, 11,806 tonnes, up from 3,800 in 2025; and iii. Indigenous and Special Allocations: 10% of the TAC, 5,895 tonnes, up from 3,801 in 2025.

Industry Challenges

Jun 2: The federal government announced $4.5 million in funding for four energy projects in Newfoundland and Labrador: i. $2.6 million to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro to implement energy-saving opportunities for industrial facilities in communities served by diesel plants; ii. $1.2 million to Aker Solutions Canada to assess the feasibility of a marine-based carbon dioxide transport and offshore storage solution; iii. $497,200 to Angler Solutions to assess the potential for developing a regional offshore carbon capture and storage hub capable of sequestering CO₂ from onshore sources; and iv. $141,500 to Tacora Resources Inc. to implement an ISO 50001-compliant energy management system at the company’s Scully Mine in Wabush.

Training

Jun 15: The province extended the deadline to apply for 2026 Job Creation Partnerships (JCP) funding to July 10. JCP support is available for community-based, not-for-profit projects that provide EI eligible individuals with opportunities to gain work experience and improve their employment prospects.

Emergency Response

Jun 2: Newly adopted Bill 13 amends the Forestry Act to expand the government’s authority to regulate burning during Forest Fire Season. They also give forestry officials more authority to support fire control or suppression efforts and address public safety concerns during emergencies while also expanding fire-related offences to include reckless or negligent conduct, in addition to deliberate acts.

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

Fire Safety

Jun 3: Forestry Act Regulations amendments took effect. Highlights: i. Ban on fireworks and sky lanterns when Fire Weather Index is high, very high, or extreme; ii. Sawmills must maintain minimum buffer of 30 metres of non-flammable material between residue piles and surrounding vegetation; and iii. Mill owners must develop plans to manage residue to prevent forest fires.

Action Point: Find out how to implement an effective and legally sound Fire Prevention Compliance Game Plan to prevent fires and explosions at your workplace.

Fire Safety

Jun 3: Revised penalties for Forestry Act Regulations violations took effect. Highlights: i. Penalty for deliberately setting a fire now ranges from $100,000 to $500,000; ii. New offence of recklessly or negligently starting a forest fire carrying penalty of $50,000 to $150,000; iii. Minimum penalties of $50,000 now apply to other high-risk activities such as lighting a fire without a proper Permit to Burn; and iv. Revised penalties for other unlawful activities, including continuing to cut or remove trees, or to engage in an activity likely to cause a forest fire, after the operating permit has been suspended or cancelled.

Workers’ Compensation

Jun 2: Royal Assent for Bill 10 requiring that Temporary Earnings Loss (TEL) benefits beyond 24 months be included when calculating a worker’s retirement benefit. Under previous workers’ compensation rules, only Extended Earnings Loss benefits were counted. The change applies retroactively to January 1, 2019. While the amount a worker receives depends on their TEL benefits, on average, that increase will be about $5,800 per worker.

Workers’ Compensation

Jun 15: WorkplaceNL began distributing some employer letters online through connect rather than sending them in the mail for connect users.  Employers will receive correspondence online automatically. While Firm Administrators will automatically have access to these letters, they must grant access to others in their organization via the Account Management option in the left-hand menu.

Workers’ Compensation

Jun 11: The province launched an independent review of the Newfoundland and Labrador workers’ compensation system. The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act, 2022, requires the government to perform such review every five years to ensure the system continues to meet workers’ and employers’ needs. The review committee is expected to submit its final report and recommendations by March 31, 2027.

Environmental

Jun 2: Royal Assent for Bill 7 tripling minimum fines for violating the Endangered Species Act to $3,000 for a first conviction, $6,000 for a second, and $12,000 for a third. The maximum fine for a third conviction also increases from $200,000 to $250,000. The legislation also gives the province more time to respond to designation recommendations.

Environmental

Jun 2: Bill 8 amending the Wild Life Act by increasing the maximum fine for obstructing a wildlife officer to $25,000 received Royal Assent and took effect. Fines for big-game penalties also increase 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

There are no cases to report on for this month.